Beauty and The Beast

Today Grandma T (Jared's Mom) took Emma and I to a local showing Disney's Beauty and The Beast. A very cool part was that we went an hour early and actually had breakfast with some of the characters. It was really great! We started with yummy Belgium waffles and then some of the characters came out and visited with those who came for breakfast. We got to take pictures with Belle, The Prince, Luminere (the candlestick), Babette (the duster), Mrs. Potts (the tea kettle) and Chip (the tea cup). Emma loved it!

After breakfast the show started and the "excitement" began... from the time Teri told me about this I was excited, I was sure Emma would just die with the fun she would have at the show, seeing the characters and the singing and dancing. Not once did I think through the story line of Beauty and The Beast. Well if you haven't seen it in a while, I will refresh your memory. In the beginning Belle's dad gets lost in the forest and is chased by wolves, then goes into The Beast's castle and meets The Beast who is relatively mean and scares him, then throws him into the dungeon. After this Belle comes to rescue her father and runs into The Beast who still is quite grumpy and scary. Then a little later in the story Belle goes into, the forbidden, West Wing, where The Beast finds her and gets really mad at her for going there. Belle gets mad/scared and runs away, out into the forest where she is chased by the scary wolves again, until The Beast comes to rescue her and fights the wolves. Needless to say Emma is not a brave child, she doesn't even like when I play the music too loud, let alone yelling and screaming from a hairy Beast (with horns no less). The first 45 minutes of the show I spent holding Emma in my arms well she begged to go home and for her Dad. In between the "scary" scenes, were cute singing and dancing times which were my only saving grace. As soon as any Beast, forest or castle scene would come Emma would want to be held and ask to go home, but as soon as the fun scenes would come up I could get her to watch without her wanted to go. Finally we got to a part when the scary stuff was behind us and The Beast started "being nice". She did like it and we tried to soften the scariness by saying things like "the wolves are trying to tickle Belle - that is why she is running away." So funny. She really did have a great time in the end, she clapped and yelled after each song and her eyes were huge whenever the dancing would come up. After the show the cast came out and she took pictures with most of them. She wasn't so sure about The Beast but agreed to take a picture only while being held by Grandma and only after I gave "The Big Teddy Bear" a hug to show how nice he was.

We had a great time, Emma talked about "Princess Belle" and The Beast, the whole way home, through lunch and as I laid her down for her nap. I just hope some memories don't wake her up screaming. :) I really am so glad we went. Thanks Grandma T - you are the best!!!

Little Da-Veed

Jared gives everyone a nickname. In our house nicknames are used just as often or more then real names, so of course Emma refers to people how her Dad does and not how she should - go figure. All of the cousins have a little nickname. David is "Little Da-Veed", Andie is "Drew" or "Drew Bug", Ali is "Bruce" (I don't think Bruce will stick it was more of a name for Jared to tease Molly his sister - all in fun though) and Emma has so many nicknames it is ridiculous. What is even funnier is that she responds to all of them - Emma Lou, Lou Lou, Ermie, Ermanski, the list goes on.

Emma loves David and when ever he comes to play she gets so excited for "Little Da-Veed".

Tonight Eric (Perk), David and a very pregnant Liz came over for pizza and games. We played Carcassan, a game we learned from The Alaskans (Steve (H) and Cammie - Jared's brother and sister-in-law who we visited in July). It is a great game because it is easy, fun and quick, so you can get through a game in about 45 minutes. The kids had a great time running around and dancing. They even got a horsey ride from Jared, which turned into a wrestling match with Jared, Perk, Emma and David. It was a fun night and when I went to put Emma to sleep after they had left she said "That was lotsa fun with Perk, Liz and Da-Veed, tanks Mom." (that is how it sounds). So cute!

Thanks guys for coming over and playing with us tonight! We had a fun time playing the game, but I mostly enjoyed watching the kids and the Dads play together... they were priceless.

I got the tickets!!!

No, they are not selling out, but I have been dying to buy them anyway. Jason Mraz is coming to The E Center on October 28th and I am so excited! If you don't know who he is, he sings "I'm Yours" (my favorite song currently) and he also sang "Remedy" - if you listen to the radio you should know, if still not... get on itunes and check him out!

I did however have a hard time finding someone to come with me. Originally Melissa and Reva were going to come. But then Melissa had a family situation that may take up her time the next few months and Reva is so stressed with school and not knowing when Ryan's schedule is that she is hard pressed to make plans other then study. So I called a few of those I thought would be fun to go with - still not a good turn out. Finally Becky said she would go (Becky doesn't know Jason Mraz, but is such a great friend she took my word for it and said she would have a good time) and Melissa figured she would plan like she was in town and if not she would sell her ticket. So yeah! I am really excited because not only do I get to see one of my current favorite artists, but also I think it will be a fun girls night with Melissa and Becky.

If any of you read this and would like to go, I am sure tickets are still available. Let me know if anyone does want to and you can join us while we can make a night out of it!

BYU Rocks The House!

The last few days have been crazy at our house. I had Hygiene Annual Session, which is a two day hygiene convention with continuing education classes and vendors. Jared had a busy work week and also had to attend the Hygiene Annual Session as a vendor. With all of our craziness, the poor kids spent most of those days with a babysitter. We were all missing each other.

So Saturday afternoon was the BYU vs. UCLA game and kind of last minute, I called a "Mommy Audible" and decided I wanted to take the kids with us, instead of leaving them with a babysitter again. Usually Jared would have put up more of a fuss, because he would rather us have some fun time and enjoy the game. But because he knew I was really missing them, he went along with it. So I quickly got them ready and they came to the game with us. It was Carson's first BYU game!

We had a great time! The kids were great! I was a little nervous, because by deciding to take them, I also was deciding to forget about Emma's only nap and Carson's afternoon nap. (If you know me as a mom at all you will know that my kids sleep is VERY IMPORTANT to me... I am kind of a "sleep Nazi", so you know this was a big decision for me). I was worried they might get grumpy after a while... they didn't! They both really enjoyed the game and loved visiting with Grandma T and Big Grandpa (who have seats right next to us). Emma especially loved it because The BYU Fight Song played so often, she got to clap and sing almost the whole time. She learned how and when to say "First Down!" and thought that was super. She really gets into the game and yells like her Dad does. She watches how he reacts and responds accordingly, it is really cute!

After BYU killed UCLA 59-0, we left the stadium celebrating all the way to the car. There was a lot of excitement and so needless to say they were both asleep before we left the parking lot (I am not exaggerating) and slept the ride home. But we didn't try to keep them asleep when we got home, so they woke up when we got into the house. That was actually okay, because they both took a bath and then went to bed early - it was a great end to a wonderful day!


PS: If you didn't see this game you misses the stomping of the century - UCLA just couldn't do anything right. They fumbled, dropped passed, missed kicks, it was actually sad - but only for a second, because it was so much fun! BYU couldn't do wrong - we were recovering fumbles and turning them into touchdowns, Max Hall was throwing right to the chest of every receiver - whether they were double or triple covered or not, it was amazing and so much fun to watch! We even blocked a field goal! What a game! If you consider yourself a BYU fan and missed this game, you need to take another look at your "fan status."

Football Season

So Football Season is Back! Along with it comes Fantasy Football! Oh yeah and Fall and leaves changing colors and all that other stuff - blah, blah, blah. I am so excited, I actually have made the Fall my favorite season because of Football. I love bundling up and going to the game, I love the crisp in the air and the roar of the crowd (especially when they are singing the BYU Fight song after we score)!

Fantasy Football is something I have been able to do the last couple years. Usually only the boys in Jared's family get to, but because they needed a even number of teams one year I got in and have been able to stay since... that is still not indefinatley - I am still the only girl and I know that I would be the first out if it needed to happen... it is just how it is in his family. Anyway, it is so much fun. If you don't know what Fantasty Football is ask your husband (unless you are Molly - ask one of your brothers instead - hehe). Well with year I was randomly selected to have the #1 pick in the draft (the coveted position) - this gives a little extra tension with some of the boys for some reason, because they think they should get that spot because they are more likely to use it to their advantage then I would, or so they assume. So with #1 pick I choose Tom Brady - The Patriot's QB. Last year he was amazing, never losing the game (until the Super Bowl) and accumulating the most points for that Fantasy Football Team. I was really excited because I really thought I had a great team. Then my luck caught up to me... in the first half of the first game Brady gets tackled and goes down in a weird way - quickly he hobbles off the field and into the locker room - it didn't look good for the game, but we still have all season right? WRONG! He is out with an ACL injury for the whole season! What a freaky pansy! So now my #1 pick is pointless and I have lost my best player... needless to say I am bitter. To rub salt in my wound, my first game in the Fantasy Football League I lost 135 to 85 (or something like that) to my brother-in-law Stan. It was not a good day, but according to my luck - it was just about right.

So here is my thoughts - I need to win - I need to get into the playoff and I need to secure my position my next year... if not I think I may be out when Tyson gets home to make room for him... I need to show my stuff or thats my fate. So wish me luck and if you see Tom Brady on the road someday - let him know I said "thanks" (feel free to add in any mean names as you see fit)!

Tagged

So Molly (my sister-in-law) tagged me and since she was so gracious to do it when I tagged her, here we go...

6 Random Things About Myself

1) I sang a solo part at my high school graduation - it was a Gloria Estefan song (I am making myself sound old, I know) and I sang 3-4 lines solo and then the choir joined in. I do love to sing, but have lost my love for being in front of an audience and so I don't really do things like that anymore... maybe someday I will join the ward choir or something.

2) I was able to travel around Scandinavia after I graduated High School. Two consecutive summers after high school, for about 3 months each time, I spent in Scandinavia. Mostly Sweden, but because the countries are so close there, I was able to go to all of the Scandinavian countries and Germany. While there and in between I even learned to speak Swedish and could get around pretty well, but have since lost most of my vocabulary due to lack of practice... sad how that happens.

3) I met my husband in Southern Illinois. I was going to school in a small little town of S. Illinois and he was working as a TV Weatherman. Our bishop introduced us and blah, blah, blah - "we are a happy family."

4) I went to 3 different high schools. We moved around a lot growing up - about once per year on average and so it just happened that my sophomore year I was enrolled in 3 different High School (one of those twice). We ended up returning to the original area (and original High School) where I graduated.

PS - I made the Varsity Tennis Team in all three schools!

5) I love to read! I mean really - I love it. I didn't always like to read, it is only been the last year that I really have had a passion for reading. I started with Twilight (as should everyone!) and went from there. I have read about 20 novels (aprox 450 pages each) in the last year. My relax time is no longer to watch TV after the kids go to sleep, it is to read!

6) My dream car is a minivan. Don't laugh and even if you do, I don't care! Think about it, I am a mom, we have a lot of crap to pack in the car when we go places. I don't want an SUV, they are too big, they are gas wasters, and I don't want to have to hurdle the middle seat to get into the back. Minivans are perfect for what I want. I have lots of room, you can get every extra to make it just perfect, they are okay on gas and they drive like a car. Plus I am up higher, but not in a tank in the air.

Jared and I have agreed that we will get one with our next child... so either we have another quick or we give in and get it early. I think Christmas would be perfect! Right now if anyone comes to visit we have to take separate car to go anywhere because we are maxed out... doesn't it sound like we need a minivan! :)

Tag - Cammie P, Melissa C, Becky M, Lindsey N, Lindsay O, and Teri


The Rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let the person know you tagged them on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when you've posted.