Creative Itch

Since I finished Spanish and Brick started working, I have become bored and my creative bone has started itching. It does that sometimes. I am my mom's daughter, and she has a VERY ITCHY creative bone. My sister-in-law Burg's received an awesome "flirty apron" at her bridal shower this last April, and I thought it was SO cute. So, I decided I would try out my new sewing machine and make one for myself.

This is how it turned out...

Happy People

These are my parents in the Phillipines. Have you ever seen two bigger smiles? I guess the lesson I'm getting from this is:

Service=Happy

Although I think if that were totally true,

the cow would have a HUGE smile....

FLAMBAM UPDATE

Last month was quite eventful as far as news goes...and I have yet again been reminded of how blessed the two of us really are. Every day I get email forwards from people complaining about the economy, health care, and just our country in general. So for Brick to have FOUND A JOB in this economic climate is big news indeed! He is now working for Verizon Wireless and (drum roll...) we finally have insurance (and GREAT insurance, at that)!!! It has been a little bit scary the last two-and-a-half years without it, and now we can breath a sigh of relief! The second bit of news is that I am finally done with my Spanish class TODAY! Another BIG sigh of relief. I will have a couple of weeks off and then it is on to my next and FINAL semester. I can't believe I made it to graduation. I knew everyone thought I would have a baby by now and would have to quite, ha ha. Well, I'm glad to say I have been able to accomplish it, and I am not at all afraid to say "good riddance" to school!

EL FIN Y ADIOS!

Ouch

It's a good thing Brick is so hard-headed (ha ha) or else this could have been worse. He was playing basketball and got head-butted by his defender. Luckily his dad is an ER physician and has mad skills with a needle! Thanks to him we didn't have to pay out or our noses for four stitches. 

p.s. I apologize for the gruesome pictures. I almost posted a video of Mark giving him stiches, but thought that might be too much for some.

Outdoor Adventures

Brick's acting like a five-year-old in this video, thus the reason I sound like I'm talking to a five-year old here. It's a little bit embarrassing...

Brick and I have been dreaming of going on a hike all summer, so last weekend we took advantage of an overcast day and set out on our adventure. Despite the allergies Utah's plants seem set off in my system, I loved seeing all the beautiful wildflowers in bloom, and really enjoyed searching for each kind of flower to snap a shot of. However, my favorite part was watching the little boy that seemed to "bloom" right in front of me. Within minutes Brick had found a "beater stick" and started hacking new trail through the forrest. When I questioned his method of hiking, he said, "You have a thing or two to learn about little boys." I guess within all grown men there lies a little boy somewhere.

You'll shoot the moon, put out the sun...

...When you love someone.

I have to remember this line (I love Brian Adam's smoky voice and wisdom!). When I was growing up I liked to think that, with all my amazing big brothers to observe and learn from, I would be a pro at spotting a winner...someone I could trust and love and share every little piece of sunshine, and sadness, with. I figured if I could take a pinch of patience from one brother and a tad of humor from another, (and I could go on and on...7 brothers), I could make the perfect man. Well, I was right, I spotted that person I had imagined in my little-girl mind, but now I find that I have to constantly remind myself to be that same kind of person, otherwise I won't deserve the man I created in my mind and then searched the world (ok, or the south west) for! Some days I wake up to breakfast in bed, or even just a sweet cuddle before the day starts, and I think, "Wow, am I lucky." Yet it doesn't take me five minutes to start picking him apart. He tells me when I start acting like that he asks himself, "Is my wife hungry, or tired, or hungry?" Usually he is right on the dot, but it's no excuse, no matter how bad a day I'm having. And my days really aren't ever THAT bad. When we were married, I had three words engraved in the inside of his ring, "Come what may." So far, much more good than bad has come my way than I could have ever asked for, and mostly that's thanks to him.

After all that rambling, I guess I should explain that I am feeling a little bit of writer's remorse for my last post. So, this is a tribute to all I love about my honey, which goes to explain

the cheesiness...but if you are anything like me, you LOVE cheese. You think cheese is one of the best things in the whole world. Well, you'll get you're fill here.

Multi-Tasking, or Not

Someone told me the other day that women are wired to multi-task and men aren't, plain and simple. I've noticed this since I've been married, as this theory has proven itself to be true time and time again when it comes to sports. This is unfortunate, because the hubby is fanatical about sports and has to watch ALL big football and basketball games (Women, am I the only one who has noticed that there seems to be a "big game" on every single night?). And when he plops himself down in front of that TV he enters some man zone from which nothing in the universe, be it a natural disaster or the telephone ringing, can disturb him. It's like he's in a tunnel where nothing else exists except that game. All conversation is banned from this tunnel, or maybe not so much banned as is just unable to sustain itself for lack of support. And as my cartoon shows, I could say anything, ANYTHING, and it would not phase him...Honey, I'm pregnant, HONEY, I spent $500 dollars today at the mall, HONEY! MY MOTHER IS COMING TO LIVE WITH US. Nope, nothing (By the way, for all my over-eager siblings, I am not pregnant).

The Best Place On Earth

As the 24th celebrations near, I can feel myself getting homesick for my family and my little hometown of St. Johns, AZ. I can just imagine what I would be doing this week if I were there, surrounded by my eight siblings and their families, my grandparents, my parents, and my friends. The week would start out with my brothers and sisters trickling in from far-off places, cars loaded to the brim with children, food, and tents. We might go to the park for some football, or more likely just sit around chewing the cud. We would wake up each morning to the smell of sausage gravy and freshly-baked biscuits. My mom would be standing in the kitchen in unmatched stockings, wearing a home-made apron. That first night my big brother, Kevn, would take out his guitar and strum along as my sister and I sing old country songs.

As the week wears on, we would attend the ice cream social at the city park, where the whole town gathers for free ice cream and interaction among lifetime friends. I see my kindergarden teacher, my highschool principal, and my first boyfriend. Later, if it is cool enough, we might go to the fairgrounds where we would witness the most unique rodeo that has ever taken place. My brothers would win the cow-roping contest and take home fifty dollars, and my friends and I would most likely lose the grocery race, again.

This weekend, in St. Johns, I would try to talk the hubby into taking me to one of the three dances, where we could hear the live band that always plays a little Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks. Or we might just go for a walk under the most beautifully star-lit sky in the whole wide world.

Throughout all of this, I am surrounded by my eight best friends, laughing and enjoying the easiness of it all, of just being together and loving eachother, trying to forget that in just a few days we will have to say goodbye again until who-knows-when.

This is what I am homesick for,

and do you blame me?

Romance at the Drive-In

It had been about three years since I went to a drive-in, before I was married. The last time I went, it was when Brick and I had just started dating. He hadn't even kissed me yet, and the other couple we were with kinda needed the car...so we sat outside on lawn chairs and enjoyed some weird cartoon. I won't lie, I was hoping for a little smooch. We had been on about fifteen dates and still, nothin'! I was starting to think about making the move myself, when, SpLaT! a big ol' raindrop landed on my nose. Then another, and another, until we found ourselves enjoying that drive-in movie in the pouring rain. One would think, rain, movie...what more appropriate time for a romantic smakaroo? Well, I guess Brick didn't think it was the right time yet, so we got soaked through to the skin for nothing, while the other couple steamed up the car (ok, in their defense, they weren't really getting steamy, and we had taken turns with the car, only Brick's and my turn was a little less productive during the previous movie...).
This time around we enjoyed the movie in the comfort of a warm car, and we popped up about four batches of popcorn, brought twizzlers and drinks, and made the best of the movie. Burgs and Trevor came, too, and it was a full-out party, minus the rain and suspense.

I even got big ol' smooch.

God Bless America!

Brick and I had an eventful Fourth of July weekend. We finished up helping his mom with a float for the Centerville parade, which I must say turned out beautifully!

We spent the 3rd with some friends watching fireworks and enjoying great food, and it was romantic to remember our dating days when Brick kissed me for the first time under the 4th of July Fireworks.

On the 4th we made the drive down to Provo to help Brick's sister work at Stadium of Fire. We volunteered as VIP ushers...

...so we were down on the grass with a clear view of Shedaisy and the Jonas Brothers (Can I get a WHoo Hoo??!!! Yeah, we were stoked)

It was seriously incredible to hear the craze these little guys have created among teenage girls. There was crying and screaming and mass hysteria as they appeared on stage. All they had to do was smile and it started up again. Brick and I were reminded of the stories about Elvis and the Beatles, and the craze they also created. No man should hold that much power, I say, let alone three teenage boys.

Glen Beck paid a beautiful tribute to our great country, and we said goodbye to a flag which was then retired and burned. Throughout that ceremony the stadium remained in a reverent and respectful hush, giving me goosebumps and making me proud to be an American. As the soldiers passed carrying the massive flag in their arms, I felt extremely grateful. I couldn't help but think of my grandpa, a WWII veteran, and his wife who suffered through months of not knowing whether he was dead or alive as he was first MIA and then POW. I know that there are many out there even now whose trial in life is to suffer for our country the way my grandparents did, and I can only say Thank You, and then do my part to make this country a better place. It was a very special experience, one I wish everyone could have shared.

God Bless America!

No Habla Espanol

HoLA. This is about the extent to which my Spanish goes, which is very unfortunate, considering the fact that I just started my fourth college Spanish course on Thursday. I'm not sure I have ever experienced anything more frustrating than hearing an instructor ask me a question (in Spanish, of course), and asking her to explain what she just asked (because I DONT UNDERSTAND SPANISH), and her ANSWERING in (yes, you guessed it!) SPANISH!

It is also very humbling to sit in a class full of almost fluent Spanish speaking classmates and be the only one who doesn't laugh when a joke is told because you don't know it's a joke because...YOU DON'T KNOW SPANISH. You probably get the point by now, so the only thing left to tell you is that I am seeking a look-alike who I can pay to go to class and take the tests for me. The only other reqiurement is that YOU SPEAK SPANISH.

Once, a little over a year ago, I started to get the hang of the stuff. Here's how it worked: Brick promised me he would do anything, I mean ANYTHING I asked him to do, as long as I commanded him in Spanish. I took advantage of that (who wouldn't?), and learned the command form of things, and words such as "laundry," "back rub," and "dishes," but soon our house was spick and span and there was nothing left to command him. The language quickly slipped away.

Now I am in trouble.

Father's Day Tribute

Who is Neal Lambson?

The man who told me princess stories when I was little, securing in my mind the fact that I, too, am a princess.

The man who takes his grand"kiddos" on his knee and asks them, " Who does Papa love?" To which they instantly answer, "ME!" then, "How much?" And this, too, they always know without a doubt, "BIG LOTS!"

The man who loves rootbeer barrels and black licorice.

The man who would pick me up from school wearing moccosins and pink and turquoise scrubs/PJs.

The man fearfully nicknamed "Papa Neal," by the boys at school.

The man who, if you peek at just the right time during family pray, you will catch crying and all red-faced because he is filled with gratitude for his family.

The man with a huge heart.

The man who calls me "Dad-gum-ding-a-ling," "Smart-alec," and "Sissy," in just one sitting.

The man who isn't afraid to laugh until he cries, or laugh at himself when he cries.

The man who loves my mom more than anything in the whole world.

The man who selflessly serves family, community, God, and now the Philippino people.

The man I call Dad...proudly.

Rainy Day Adventures

Today, despite the the rain, my honey and I have been busy. Although most rainy days I prefer to curl up in a warm fuzzy blanket and read a good novel, how could I resist a morning of yardselling with friends? You never know what treasures you will find for smashin' deals! And since Brick has been asking me almost daily if I want to go bike riding, forgeting we only have one bicycle, we were on the lookout this morning for a sweet ride. So, while I'm no judge of cool bikes, this one is sweet enough for me!

Another plus: I got to see my cute hubby get all nifty and manly in the garage as he made sure our rides were up to par! Hubba hubba!

Getcha Some Suga, Suga!

I just want to give a shout-out for my new favorite food-and-other-good-stuff blog, "Conversations With a Cupcake." Can I just say, "AWESOME!"? Check it out for inspiring words and recipes, ya'll!

conversationswithacupcake.blogspot.com

Sister Sister

I talked to my sister today. What a special woman she is! And what a special thing to have someone in your life who, every time you call her shouts (with a smile in her voice) "Hello!" and you can tell she is happy to talk to you, sometimes for hours, despite the fact that that someone happens to be a busy mother of four and most certainly doesn't have the time. She is true to her namesake, Queen Esther, and one of the best people I know in the whole world.

There are some things in my life that constantly manifest to me that my Heavenly Father knows me. ME. Not so special, not so amazing me, right down to the center of my heart. The first and foremost thing that comes to mind is the man He sent me when no one else would do.

The second thing, and the reason I am writing this post is my sister. Esther is the person most like me I know, and yet a better, nicer version. And when I feel down, or wronged, or happy, or excited, she is just the one I want to tell. She feels the same things I do, gets sad over the same mean comments from rude people (and we look just alike, so she and I receivet similarly mean comments), and excited over the same recipes. So, like I said, I called her today and, true to form, she answered with the smile in her voice that tells me I was just the person she wanted to talk to. What is especially amazing about that "smiling" voice is the fact that she just lost her wonderful father-in-law (Yesterday!). And yet she remains ever cheerful and strong, showing me yet again how much better I can be. One might think to tell her that she has a right to mourn, that it is natural, and that cheerfulness is not (which might sometimes be true). Yet the reason she is the way she is at such a hard time is even more natural and inspiring. As I asked her how she is doing, she said, "Better" and "Calm." She then went on to talk about the peace she felt as she told her four children they would see their beloved granddad again. So add faith to those things she teaches me. Then she says, "I missed you this week." My first reaction to this is a feeling of honor. In her time of need she wants me? And then I think, "That is what sisters are for." It makes sense. When you have to be strong all day for your children (and husband), call a sister.