Mom's version

Make sure you watch the video below first. My mom is telling my brother Todd about our grand surprise. (He already knew about it...I can't be expected to keep a secret this good from everybody can I?)

Hee Hee...stalking my mother all the way to Alaska

This is for my friends and family who aren't on Facebook. It's a little snippet of Mom's reaction to me and Diane showing up at her cruise ship cabin. This was her first cruise and she was pretty anxious. Now, I cannot allow people to have the most fun ever without being there to also partake...so I invited myself on Mom's and Auntie Jo's cruise and didn't tell them until we all sailed away.

The difference between men and women

I love my son. He cracks me up. The past 6 months or so have been quite a wild ride, but I love him none the less. I've been neglecting my Blogging duties for a while now. I'd intended to write down an unforgettable interaction with Jared back in May.

We were sitting in the kitchen together working on a packet of homework that he needed to have done and turned in the next day. Like a lot of teenagers, he had procrastinated the homework and now was up late trying to get it done.

From the kitchen we overheard his step father on the phone in the bedroom. We heard him say, "he's one of the smartest kids I've ever known, he's incredibly bright!" Jared's eyes lit up and he turned to me and said, "Is Michael talking about me?" I nodded that he was. The gratification didn't last long because the next thing we heard from the bedroom was, "but he's really lazy. He's a big slug wasting time on the computer and video games and neglecting the things he supposed to be doing." Jared's smile instantly turned into a frown and his eyes darkened and filled up with tears. He turned to me and said, "I hate his guts!" I marched into the bedroom and Michael looked at me and indicated that he was on the phone. I angrily said, "I know...we can hear you in the kitchen and now you have a crying stepson who hates you!" Then back into the kitchen to do damage control. Due to circumstances beyond Jared's control he has some issues with fathers and father figures. I worry about him and want more than anything else for his deep wounds to heal. I encouraged him to think about the complement Michael had paid him and lovingly pointed out that he did have room for improving the way he spends his time but admitted Michael could have said that in a nicer way. Jared got really quiet and continued working on his homework. I had a lot of things going through my head. Did I need to schedule a therapy appointment for him? How could I mend this fragile relationship between my new husband and my son? Should we get family counseling? What is my role? I had a lot of thoughts bombarding me and wasn't sure what to do. It had been so obvious that Jared had been truly hurt by his stepfather's remarks. I looked at Jared again and he seemed to look normal.
I said, "Hey, are you OK?"
He seemed surprised. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
I said, "Aren't you upset at Michael?"
He replied, "No. Not anymore."
Stunned, I inquired, "You were really hurt, how did you let go of your feelings so quickly?"
He just looked at me and said, "Helloooooo....I'm not a woman."

It still makes me laugh.

Happy Father's Day Daddie-o

He came to my ball games faithfully
and loudly cheered "How to Go!!"
I'd roll my eyes, and jog by to correct him
"It's way to go! Dad, Way to go!"

He was raised by a man with a potty mouth
And Dad didn't like it one bit
In my whole life, I've never heard him cuss
I don't count " Great Gobs of Blue Geese!"
(what did you think I was going to say there?)

He taught me to love music, I love to sing with him
My favorite memories involve his guitar
Singing old country westerns, yodeling for us
We didn't have to search far for our star

As expressive as he was with his music
And as supportive as he was with my sports
The "I love you"s were a little too seldom
And the hugs were a little too short.

Mom counseled him to try a bit harder
So as he walked by he squeezed my big toe
And I knew all along that he loved me
And I thought "How to Go Dad. How to go!"

Don't let the bed bugs bite!

Check out this video about bedbugs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKCcSPCOQo



This is a nymph before it has "eaten".


This is the very same nymph after it had "eaten".


And here it is again, only you get an idea of it's real size.
























And this is what happened to me after I stayed up all night sitting on a couch that was infested with bedbugs.





I'd had a sofa cover over my couch, and had no idea what was lurking underneath until they tried to eat me alive!

I was able to get brand new couches out of the whole terrifyingly itchy experience. And I have a new appreciation for sleeping tight!

Pictures from Cailin's wedding!

Waiting for the happy couple to come out of the temple, Susan finds a way to keep the sun off baby Jacob's head.










Jared and his handsome cousin, Kyle. Eat your hearts out ladies, he's leaving for his mission to Brazil in September.












Here they come! Morgan and Caitlin Sheffer! With Grandma Dee giggling in the back ground.













The mother of the bride and the missionary. My beautiful sister-in-law Nancy Tyree.































It looks like a bunch of models in some fashion magazine, and then there's me in the background. Really, I am related to these gorgeous people!















The father of the bride and my big brother, Todd.















Pucker up!











Kyle and Devin looking sharp!













Glam girl Alli.



















Kyle and Jared sharing a tender and hilarious moment. These two boys are a laugh riot.

















Hey, you know what would be funny? Have Caitlin hold Jacob like it's her baby and have Todd strangle Morgan. Yup, that's funny! Too bad we didn't have a shotgun too.

Wicked comes to SLC!

I know this will come as a giant shock to some of you, but I am a fan of Wicked. (the musical, NOT the book.) I have traveled the world to partake of the delicious fruit and I have labored to bring others to the tree that they might also partake. (Don't worry, I'm sitting under a lightening rod should God decide to smite me.) But I do love Wicked and I wish everyone could experience it. I was able to see it twice when it came to Salt Lake City last month and was able be on the front row at one of the performances. What a thrill! I was right there, they were singing to me. I felt like I was part of the play, maybe a Munchkin. This first picture is a picture I sneaked at the end of the show. You aren't supposed to take pictures at all. My friend Dave took a picture of his family sitting in their seats before the show started and an usher came up and told him that it wasn't allowed. He quickly responded, "Hey, I have the copyright on my family." I thought it was pretty funny.


This is my fun friend Krissy who was my date for the front row performance. I let her borrow my Wicked umbrella because if she gets wet, she melts.









This is the understudy who played Glinda. She did a great job, but I preferred the Glinda from the first show. The first one was Katie Rose Clarke and she portrays Glinda as a spaz hyped up on Ritalin or something. She's freaking hilarious!! I'm pretty sure Katie Rose Clarke is the same lady we saw in Rochester NY when I went with my family last year. I'll have to double check my program.





This is Donna Vivino who did a fantastic job as Elphaba. She was probably the best Elphaba I've seen next to Idina Menzel.












This was the guy who played Fiyero. It looks like I just grabbed his butt or something. He's keeping a close eye on my hands to make sure that I don't squeeze the Charmin.