secure the blog or delete the blog.....

"Honey, you need to either get rid of the pics and make the blog secure or delete the blog" those are the words ry told me a couple of days ago. He watched some news report about how unsafe blogs are and he got all freaked out. I really don't want to go private because I have reconnected with a lot of old friends as they have found my blog and had access to it. I don't like the private thing AT ALL, but I do see the value in it. So as opposed to deleting the blog or going private, I decided to just try to make it more secure.....not sure how it will work out, if it doesn't I would rather delete the blog entirely and just go back to the way things were. I guess time will tell, it has lost some of the fun for me now (thanks to the perverts and crazies of the world) but life is about change and adapting, so on my way I go...............

halloween 2008

We love Halloween at our house, our Monday night Halloween meal included, pumpkin dinner (hamburger/rice mixture baked inside a pumpkin), witches fingers (breadsticks w/pepperoni fingernails) and green witches brew. After the meal, ry and the kids carved pumpkins.

Wed. was the last day of school for the week. I am the homeroom mom for Drew's class, so I got to spend an hour with the 1st graders making lots of Halloween fun ;)

Ryan and I had supper club on Thursday...like the costumes? LOL-Ryan wouldn't wear the bright red lipstick, he drew the line at wearing a bra and pantyhose! He put his bracelet and purse on after the picture and too bad you couldn't see the turquoise pumps he was sporting. We both decided he is not a pretty woman!

Taylor decided to use the same granny get-up for her costume, Drew was Mrs. Frankenstein (or chickenstein as Nolan says...) and Nolan was pumped to be a rodeo clown (he really was excited, he just didn't want his picture taken).

Another Halloween come and gone...time to put it all away, divide up the candy and move forward to pumpkin pie!

scary drewbie?

Drew has been obsessed with being Frankenstein for Halloween. She has been practicing her "Frankenstein/zombie" walk for a week or so now and thinks she has it down. Luckily my sister came through and found Drew this "girl" Frankenstein costume!! I don't think it is quite as scary as she was hoping, but I think she is a doll!! Her dance group performed at the craft show this weekend. Too funny! Notice how Drew is bossing the other kids around...wonder where she gets that from?? Her mother and father have never been bossy a day in their lives ;) We love little Drewbie and the special spirit she is to our family.

Also this last week, Taylor had her first Volleyball game. She really shouldn't be doing any of this until after Halloween, but Dr. Ryan Miller gave her the green-light....I won't go there.....anyhoo, she had a ton of fun and has officially placed volleyball as her second favorite sport (softball of course is #1). She made me laugh because she has never been a "short-shorts" kinda gal. She likes them long and baggy and has a total complex about wearing them even a centimeter above her knees. Well, she tries on these volleyball shorts which are at least two feet shorter than her comfort zone and says to me, "My legs aren't quite as weird looking as I thought. I have these funny shaped legs and weird knees, but I guess these shorts will be ok to wear while I play". I was tempted to put the short-shorts on and show her just how weird a pair of legs could look in those babies, but figured she didn't need to be traumatized by the shorts any more than she already is! Notice in her pics from the game, the ultra-long socks. We had to go purchase them special the day of the game so she could cope with the fact of wearing the shorts.... What a kid!! Tay is such a joy to us though and we love the fact she keeps us on the move. Our home would be a sad place without her.
Now, I can't leave Nolan out. He is such a good sport to tag along with us to all of his sisters things. He just brings a matchbox or two and is content to let us watch them. No matter what we are watching the girls do though, when it is over his first question is always "did tay/drew win mom?" LOL. We always tell him yes just to keep his spirits up (even it it was just a dance or tumble routine)!

Ryan had to spend his birthday yesterday speaking at one of his best friends funeral. What a very sad day, but he did a great job. Kourtney and Ryan were friends since the first day of 6th grade. We will both miss him, he was a great guy. As Ryan puts it, a friend is someone who loves your wife and kids and treats them with the same respect you do. This was Koutney through and through. We pray for his family and the pain they are going through. May God take Kourtney by the hand and keep him close until the time we all meet again.


Kourtney L. Olsen
Kourtney L. Olsen 1976 ~ 2008 Kourtney Lee Olsen, age 32, passed away October 21, 2008 at his home in Nephi, Utah.He was born March 6, 1976 in Nephi, Utah to Lee Vernon and Rebecca Sue Williams Olsen. He was employed by Walker Oil/ Mission Transport. Kourtney loved the outdoors and spending much of his free time with his niece, Bailee and lil buddy, Zach Coombs. He enjoyed camping, hunting, and chasing lions with his hounds and mules. Kourtney was a man of the road. His job took him far and wide, allowing him to see a lot of the country. Most of all he loved being with his family. He is survived by his parents, Lee and Becky; his sister, Andrea and niece, Bailee; brother, Trevor (Ashley) Olsen all of Nephi; grandmother, Darlene Olsen. He is preceded in death by his brother, Jason Lynn Olsen and grandparents, Jude and Ramone Williams and Vernon L. Olsen. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008 in the Nephi 1st Ward, 222 S. 100 E. Family and friends may call Friday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the Anderson Funeral Home, 94 W. 300 N. and at the church one hour prior to the services. Interment will be in the Nephi Vine Bluff Cemetery.

another tag

another tag (which i love by the way...i think it is a quick insight into the minds of others...if i see you looking oddly at me next time i see you i will know you have been given too much insight!)

Eight things I'm passionate about:
1. my family
2. Wishing I could speak with either a drawl like a texan or talk with a crisp english accent
3. the Gospel and becoming a stronger/better member the Lord and my family can be proud of
4. food-eating it
5. food-cooking it
6. taking care of widows/widowers. I have cried myself to sleep several nights in the last couple of months because i get so down about people being lonely and unable to do things for themselves. How do you help them effectively? How do you give enough time to really make a difference? how do you give enough time to all those who need it? how do i teach my children to reach out to those who need it? how do you realize to the full extend each of their needs with the limited time you have? how do you comfort them effectively? i could go on and on....
7. my kids learning good habits
8. scentsy warmers and waxes

Eight words or phrases I use all the time:
1. whatever!
2. thinkin' not...
3. oh bugger
4. please don't yell
5. no, we are not buying that today
6. taylor, you cannot do that until 10-31-08
7. taylor, for reals, you cannot do that until 10-31-08
8. I LOVE YOU-assuring i say it to ry, tay, drewbie and Nolan each day and learning to say it to other loved ones each time i talk with them.

Eight things I want to do before I die:
1. go camping 1000 times more than I went this year
2. get my food storage up to par. this probably wont happen until RIGHT before I die for a couple reasons. #1-who has that much storage room? Someday when I am old and rich I will build me a small house with a huge storage room. #2-the peeps in my house eat it as fast as I can bottle it...gunna have to wait until the kids have moved out and ry is old and doesn't have much of an appetite anymore. Moral of the story, when I get it up to par, I will pass on and leave my legacy of food storage to my children...whose kids will probably eat it is fast as they can put it on the shelves....?!
3. try cooking every one of the hundreds of recipes I have collected over the years
4. see Niagra falls (yeah weird huh, seeing as how i am SCARED TO DEATH of water)
5. Purchase an insanely expensive original LDS painting of Joseph Smith
6. Get the basement finished (ha-ha that is a joke directed towards my hubby)
7. figure out how to use my time more wisely
8. serve a couples mission with ry

Eight things I currently want or need:
1. A vacation
2. a new dishwasher
3. my own treadmill (my mother, bless her heart, is forgoing her exercise so i can use her treadmill for now)
4. for my children to quit shoving random items under the bed and couches when they are cleaning
5. more new scentsy waxes
6. to pay my bills (that is what i should be doing right now)
7. I need to get my flu and pneumonia vaccinations-sooner than later
8. to talk my husband into some cross-dressing for his supper-club halloween costume

Eight Places I want to visit:
1. The Sacred Grove
2. Ireland/Scotland
3. I have been, but I want to take my family to the Redwood Forest
4. Niagra Falls (again...go figure)
5. Yellowstone
6. Atlanta to watch a Braves game
7. Grand Ole Oprey
8. Broadway to watch as many shows as I could

Eight Favorite Restaurants:
1. Red Lobster
2. Fuddruckers
3. Sizzler
4. Any good Mexican Restaraunt, especially El Mexicano in Salina
5. Olive Garden
6. P.F. Changs
7. Chick-fill-a
8. Game Day Pizza (yummy-Matt says I am his best customer..thus the need for the treadmill)

Eight TV show I watch:
1. Lost
2. Project Runway
3. Ghost Hunters
4. Destination truth
5. Animal Cops
6. What not to wear
7. American Idol
8. The Amazing Race

I tag anyone who wants to fill this!

tagged.......

So, my friend Heidi tagged me a while back and I am finally taking the time to... would you say get untagged?
Ryan left on Thursday morning to New Mexico. His brother drew and once-in-a-lifetime elk tag and could take only two people with him. So Ryan, his brother and their dad all went and will be gone for 10 days.
The first 10 years of our marriage Ry was always out of town working and it was just the way we lived so it never bothered me. Now though, I miss him like crazy.....so I figured it was a good time to think about his qualities and fill this tag:

1. Where did you meet your husband?
In kindergarten....he use to chase me around the school yard trying to play kissing tag! No, I did not enjoy it like he did!

2. How long did you date before you got married?
Approximately three years

3. How long have you been married?
13 awesome years

4. What does he do that surprises you?
He never seems to do anything that surprises me. I have known him my whole life and he is my soul mate. For reals, we always finish each others thoughts and sentences and call each other on the phone at the exact same time...it is kinda scary sometimes. The only thing I can think he does that surpries me is that sometimes he doesn't get upset at something that has happend when I think he might....Does that count? Probably not.

5. What is your favorite feature if his.
His hands. They are perfect. If I elaborate someone will be sure to get the wrong idea ;)

6. What is your favorite quality?
His work ethic. The man is like The hulk-he never stops. He is also a natural born leader. He is always ready to take charge and make things work. Ok, one other thing...he is so cute about always calling his mom and sister. He is just not settled unless he keeps tabs on each of them.

7. Does he have a nick name for you?
"Woman" (don't get offended it is a joke between us)

8. What is his favorite food?
Pretty much anything other than German pancakes. The man can eat pudding on porkchops and put away more food than 3 people together, but feed him German pancakes and he turns green on the spot!

9. What is his favorite sport.
Baseball for sure-Go Braves!!!

10. When and where did you first kiss.
It was a girls choice dance our Sophmore year-that is the only thing we agree on. I know he made the first move, but his fantasies insist I "jumped" him! Gag!!!

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
hang-out and just talk about life, anything we do as a family

12. Do you have children?
Yep, Taylor-10; Drew-6; Nolan-4

13. Does he have any hidden talents.
Well beyond being able to do any manly thing conceivable, he also is one he** of a window washer, he can knit, quilt, bottle food in the fall, and he makes a mean dish of cowboy beans.

14. How old is he?
32

15. Who said I love your first.
Jeez, probably me. He was too cool for that when we were younger....

16. What is his favorite music?
He has everything from Metallica to Neil Diamond in his collection. The only thing he doesn't like is rap/hip-hop music

17. What do you admire most about him?
I am going to steal Heidi's response, I love how she said it:
"His loyalty. He loves his wife and family, we make him proud. I know there is
no one who could love me as much as he does." (thanks heidi)

18. What is his favorite color?
Well, I thought it was blue so I always have bought him a lot of blue clothing. The other day he asked me "why in the heck do you buy me so many blue items? I barely even like that color!!" I was so much in shock I never thought to ask him what his favorite color really is...

19. Will he read this?
umm, maybe if he is slow at work and thinks about it when he is on the computer.

20. Who do you tag?
Emily Forscutt, Natasha, Janell, Machelle & Kendra

Kids!!

Well, I am glad to say that my biggest worry in life is down to wondering "...how much more junk can my husband collect around our yard?"
Back to normal...such words have never seemed so sweet. I have craved this for over a month now and finally think I am almost there. Yes, normal to me is kinda hectic and crazy, but that keeps life interesting hey?
I have another embarassing child moment. Sometimes I wonder how I dare take them out in public.....
We had to take Tay to the doctor this morning (by the way she is doing sooooo well and healing so fast she might get to go back to school 1 week early) on the way home, Nolan was screaming he wanted to stop at the barnyard (the Red Barn). I obliged because how often is it that I am not in a hurry trying to meet a hundred different deadlines?
We browsed for a bit and Nolan picked out a bag of candy he wanted. We were waiting to be checked out and Nolan got impatient and opened his candy. I gave him the "eye" that told him not to eat it yet and he blurts out "You want me to hide this bag of candy mom?". Well, there was this man behind us that says "Geez lady, what are you teaching your kid?" and the clerk is now giving me the "eye". Good grief! I almost ran out of the store in embarassment, but then for sure they would think I was hiding my own bag of candy or something.
I am not sure my muttered expanation did any justice and still not sure why Nolan would say that, but I am sure I will probably try to avoid taking Drew or Nolan with me anywhere there are other people ;)
-Mandi