Sorry folks. I can't get enough of this little lady. Here she is enjoying some potato salad. She is sooo proud of herself. We had to fight the spoon away from her. She could do some damage on G.L.O.W.
(Can you tell I figured out how to use the recorder on my camera?)
It was with great anticipation that we settled into our movie seats on Monday to enjoy the newest Indy installation. I 90% liked this movie, while my dad, James and the kids loved it.
Yes, Indy is back and yes he is a little tired and seems to run with a little arthritis, but he is still kicking backside. While the plots have always dealt with the 'mystical', this one takes it to a whole new level. It is certainly worth seeing and is entertaining. My family has been in love with Shia LeBeouf for quite sometime and we would really love to see a whole new Indy dynasty with him as the main man. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
I love traditions. They represent stability to me and I thrive on stability. It's what keeps my little world on track and focused...I also think it represents control, a thing I struggle with. I like things to be controlled and thought out. Traditions are just that. I know when, where, how, who and what is expected. I need medication I know.
One tradition I have always loved is Memorial Day and visiting the Mountain View Cemetery in Pocatello. Growing up, except for the years spent in California, we spent every Memorial Day cleaning up my oldest brother Mark Brant and Grandpa Hobby's graves. Us kids never knew either of them, yet it made them real to us and now as a mother I have a whole new appreciation for the part of my parents that is buried there. If you click on the picture of Livvy you can see Brant's sweet headstone better. Right after my brother passed away, my mother's father bought the plots right next to him and it has been a comfort to my mom through the yrs. Just recently my parents bought their own plots one section over. My mother has always wanted to be close to her baby Brant. Resurrection morning will be a grand occasion in Pocatello.
Now my children get to visit this hallowed place. This day always presents a great opportunity to talk about death and the afterlife and with kids the questions always come. I don't think I have ever really been scared of death because of the many times I was able to talk with my parents about Brant and what they knew was a reunion between parent and child. I can clearly remember having the exact conversation with my mom that Olivia had this weekend. It is still the same 25 years later.
I do love this particular cemetery. I really wish I could be buried here. I want to be a part of that reunion mentioned above! It is lush and beautiful and full of history. I love the organized manner in which it is laid out, with its rows and rows and rows of perfectly measured squares. After the graves are cleaned up we wander around and visit many graves of friends we have known. 
There is Joey Mac, the little boy of my parent's good friend Curt, who died of heart complications. Curt always puts a pinwheel on Brant's grave every year and Mom and Dad always put a mum on Joey's. There is my young woman's leader who died of breast cancer 11 years ago. There are many, many men buried there that my dad played high school sports with. I know their names and I know the stories, but I still like hearing them again anyway. As we walk, my dad will point out a particular headstone and say, "He helped me and your mom move out of our first
apartment and into a new one. He'd do anything for anyone. He was a great guy." We always come across a random name and my dad with his keen memory will tell us, "She was my 2nd grade teacher," or "She used to babysit me." There is also a boy buried there who played basketball with Cole. He died on the night of a high school dance while messing around in the back of a pick up truck. He fell out and it killed him 12 yrs ago. His story is particularly sad, as he was the only son of a couple and also happened to be adopted. His mother can be found sitting at his grave almost every day, bringing decorations and mourning him still. In stark contrast to what I was taught as a child, this sad mother and father have no faith or understanding of a Heavenly Father's love or of his plan. Sad as it is, her sorrow always strengthens my own understanding and own testimony.
It was a wonderful afternoon. If any of you are ever in the neighborhood, take a quick peek at this cemetery in Pocatello. It is well worth the stop and a fascinating place to wander around. It is truly hallowed ground.
When there is a baby girl in the house, Spring and Summer mean "Painted Piggies". Admit it! You just said, "Ohhhh" in your mind or even out loud when you saw this pic of Tessie's toesies.
Olivia had a 'School's Out' sleepover last night. Our home was invaded by 5 little girls, including our own Ali Belle. One would have thunk I had learned from the AI party the other night that little girls do more laughing and giggling than participating in organized activities. LESSON LEARNED!
Little girls are funny, silly hearted, interesting creatures. They played 'Army House' with Mark's army gear. One was the doctor, one was the baby, one was the 'army dog' and the others were all wounded soldiers. I'm not quite sure where the baby fits into all of this, but they made it work.
I can now officially say I've done the 'Fun Mom' thing and am good for a long while. My patience and good spirits run dry at about 1:00 a.m.
Anyone within 10 miles of the Hopkins' home tonight heard the most outrageous uproar ever produced as 5 little girls yelled, shrieked and chanted at the television after hearing tonight's AI results. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth in its purest form in Twin Falls. I'm sure if David A. could have fully expressed himself upon hearing the results he would have been stomping right along with the Darlings of Idaho.
We, like my Aunt Andrea, were a house divided tonight. Whitney, Olivia and I had all solidly formed a line behind David C. and were hoping he was still standing in his truth at the end of the night, not necessarily because we love him, but because it's always fun to have someone to root for. Isa, Ali Belle and their friends Phoebe, Georgiana and Madeline were all rooting for David A. His boyish good looks had won them over a long time ago and they are a smitten little bunch. After hearing the results one would have thought the OJ Simpson trial had just finished. They were screaming, and 'booing' and began to chant (in Attica style), "David C. doesn't sing! He just makes noise!" This phrase is still running through my head. When I threatened to get them shirts that said, "I LOVE DAVID C." One darling quickly replied, "His head wouldn't fit on the shirt." Now there's a quick wit!
Our night started out great with pizza and lots (and lots) of high energy. After about the first 15 min. Whits and I realized we weren't going to hear much over the chattering of 6 little girls and we were glad they banished themselves upstairs to watch the show without being shushed. Our best moment of the night came when a lingerie commercial came on and we heard all of them gasp, 'ooo', yuck and blah themselves through the commercial. Isa asked the question women have been asking themselves for centuries, "Who would want to go out in that?" Whitney and I were in tears...I should go get that exact outfit right now and save it for her bridal shower. What do you say Whits? Anyway-we enjoyed the night. We spent the whole night wishing that other idols had gone further and lamenting how we could have liked 'so and so' much better than the Davids. You can't live on 'what ifs' though. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Michael Johns. Still love him. Poor Amanda looked like she was thinking "Anywhere but here. Anywhere but here. Anywhere but here." If she could have produced some red, ruby slippers I'm sure she would have been clicking away. We're still trying to figure out how David Hernandez got his sleeves on over his guns and how he kept them from ripping. Jason C. and Brooke looked as awkward as ever, cute, but awkward and when I saw Chikezie I felt sad he left so early.
I love the combination of celebrities and the idols. It always makes for great television. We LOVED Carrie Underwood and were a bit confused about George Michael's appearance. He still has a great voice and we liked his performance, but not much about the poor fool says 'High Quality, Family Entertainment'. Our 2nd favorite moment of the night was Gladys Knight and the Pips. How funny was that? Putting Ben Stiller, an earnest Jack Black and a smooth Robert Downey Jr. together as the Pips was genius. Loved it.
After the confetti dropped, the tears were cried and the parents hugged I forgot all of my angst about the last season of AI. I still love it and will continue to be a devote fan. It is great television and it is such a fun process to watch as the contestants get whittled down to the final American Idol. Next January seems like a long time away...until then my fellow AIers...
Are you ready for this...get ready...
I thought David C. totally ROCKED tonight. Since we are down to the final two I will declare myself for David C. I loved his performances tonight, especially "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". James and I also both liked his 2nd song and the quicker tempo, a thing he doesn't do too often. I hope he is still 'standing in his truth', as Paula said, tomorrow. However, we both think David A. could walk away with the title thanks to the judges. Their over the top praise confused us. We would like to know who the producers feel would make them the most money. Over and over tonight I kept trying to decide if I would go to a David A. concert. No way-no how. How boring would that be? As of right now, in his young life, he just isn't experienced enough as a performer. Give him a few years and some more polishing and I think he could be great. He'll know to keep his eyes open, to quit licking his swollen lips, what to do with his unoccupied hand, how to control his breathing better and how to not act as if he is going to faint on the stage. I really felt bad for him and was waiting for Ryan Seacrest to ask if there was a doctor in the house. At this point in time he is a 'nah' for me. James put our thoughts into one simple phrase, "I would buy a whole album of David C.'s before I would buy one song of David A.'s."
Think of me tomorrow night at Whitney's AI party. I hope it's as great a night as the last 2 yrs. I need me another great Daughtrey/Live moment.
Sometimes I love last minute ideas and spontaneous actions. I woke with a whim in my heart and mind this morning and decided to act on it. I knew Ryan and Colleen were on their way home from Boise, Whits and Tim are always up for a Sunday drive, Mom and Dad are suckers for their grandkids and that Cole and Tristan were with M & D and would be happy to come along for a drive. I enticed everyone with chocolate mayo cake and backyard baseball and to my happy delight EVERYONE took me up on it. As kids we used to play backyard baseball and it has been far too long since we've had a fun game. The little guys were all good for one hit and then were off playing, but the girls and men (and me) stuck it out and hit some good ones. I wish we could all just live in a row like Steed Row in 'The Work and the Glory'. If I had a billion dollars that would be my one wish...I'd support us all and we could play backyard baseball any summer night we wanted to. Great Day. Great Fun. Great Memories.
Livvy gets some throwing pointers from Uncle Tim and James.
Grammy and Tess enjoy the show.
Liv's got good form.
Dad forgets which sport we are playing and resurrects the ol' Highland Football photo op. Go Dad!
We had an especially long day today and Tess just couldn't make it home before she conked out.
I haven't known what to post about last night's AI performances, so I took the morning to think about things. My apologies.
James and I are trying to figure out if we have a problem here at the ol' Burley Homestead. We didn't like any of the performances last night except for Syesha's "If Not You". We generally do concede that David A. can sing, but just don't have a taste for his style. We felt last night produced some of the worst performances by both Davids, yet the judges were falling all over themselves with praise for David C. What gives? Is our television broke? Is James' stereo system that he has invested thousands of dollars in on the fritz? We are perplexed...
David A. clearly showed his inexperience and lack of performing abilities last night. He had no control over 2 of the songs chosen for him last night and it showed and the one song he did have control over produced a very weak attempt at sounding current and hip. I have always loved "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg, every last corny word of it, but David made it sound sooooo bad I even hated it last night.
James and I didn't like anything about David C. last night. Are you surprised? He is NOT a melodic singer, as shown by "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". Again, is our TV broke? Did others of you out there hear something different? Also, he starts every song the same, slow, breathy, sexy (?) and then teases you that he is really going to speed things up, but keeps the song at a moderate pace. Blah, Blah, Blah!
We did give a first rate attempt at giving Syesha our votes last night. Our biased opinion helped us feel like she put forth a decent effort. While James and I watched last week's episode of Lost we voted our little hearts out. We easily put in over a 100 votes between us and I know it will be those 100 votes that will launch Syesha to the final 2. Be prepared for an upset tonight. I can (kinda) feel it in my bones. I say 'kinda' to give myself that small chance of being wrong. It does happen. Which reminds me of a story...
James arrested a drunk kid awhile ago and his fly was down. After talking to him for a little bit James told him, "Hey I noticed your fly was down". The kid looked down and then in an ever so calm, nonchalant way replied, "It happens".
I'm going to use this phrase as my ray of hope throughout the day. Syesha making it to the final 2 could happen...
Side note: The pants never got zipped back up...he was too drunk to care or be embarrassed.
If you ever want free, unadulterated entertainment I have found the best thing to do is sign your name on the line and invite the missionaries to come dine with your family for the evening. The only thing you have to do is cook a meal, knowing they'll probably hate everything about it, then sit back and let the missionaries do the talking. Now we haven't done this at our home for a few years. The last set we had over complained throughout the entire meal about the food I had prepared. I tried to go easy and fix Philly Cheese Steaks. Come on! Who doesn't like those? Beef and young, hard working men seem to go hand in hand. Not so with this dynamic duo. One had the gall to ask why I didn't have au jus to dip them in. "That would be French Dip," I thought to myself and I had decided to go American and make Philly Cheese. I guess our palate is not as developed his. I was so exasperated by the experience I have not signed up to feed the Elders for a couple of years. My heart has softened of late though. I'm sure it's due to my own brother serving in the field. As the sign-up sheet was passed around in Relief Society, I hoped there were nice gals like me in Hawaii trying to fatten up Brant. In honor of Brant I signed my name in BIG capital letters and crossed my fingers he would be blessed for my efforts.
So tonight was the night. I prepared a nice meal, made some cookies and waited ALL day long for our free evening of entertainment to commence. I was not disappointed...Here's to you Elder Brant!
*I served regular ol' steamed carrots with dinner and one of the elders asked me, "How did you cook the carrots Sister Sellick?" How are you supposed to answer that? It wasn't a time honored family secret...I just steamed them in the microwave. I was kinda embarrassed I didn't have some kind of exciting, super special secret to share with him.
*Elder Carrot was trying to talk to a solemn Tess, who scorns men in general, and asked what her name was. I told him, "Tess". He said, "That's her name? What's her full name?". Uhhhhh, "Tess Alayna?" He smartly replied, "So it's just Tess?" I was at a loss and left it at that.
*The same elder a little bit later was trying to ask me a question and forgot our last name he said, "I know it starts with an 'S'". I told him to just think of the actor Tom Selleck and he could remember us just fine. He looked at me funny and I asked him if he knew who Tom Selleck was and he replied that he didn't but, "If you want to ask me about Japanese Anime I can answer any question about it." I had absolutely no reply to that one. I could only look around for the movie cameras and wonder if I was starring in a Napoleon Dynamite sequel titled, "The Fields are White and Napoleon is Harvesting Away". I should have cooked some tater tots.
Why would I do a post about my kitchen window? I say, "Why not?" I love my kitchen window. It makes me happy. I can stand and do dishes without hating the task. My window makes me smile because:
My Granny has always had a house full of African Violets and they remind me of her. In fact most flowers remind me of her, because she has always had beautiful gardens, inside and outside her home. Also, my mother's sister Sharon made the pot this pretty, pink violet inhabits. I like to look at my blooming violet and think of my Granny's sun room and the dozens of violets growing there.
All of my babies bathe in the kitchen sink for the first months of their lives. I enjoy the bedtime routine of my newborns. They would soak for awhile in a warm sink, then get cozied in jammies, nurse and then sleep for about 15 min. before being awake for the rest of the night. These pictures always remind me of those first few months and make me long to have back my newborns. L to R: Livvy, Mark, Nate, Tess. Can you tell which babies were a month early versus the ones who were born right on time?
I love birds. My mom used to tell us that Santa's birds were always watching us to see if we were being good. They would then fly back to the North Pole and give Santa a report. ALL birds are Santa's birds when you are 6 years old. This works like a charm with our kids and the tree outside the window by our dining table is full of messengers to Santa. These happy birds make me whistle while I work.
I've mentioned
the view from the front of our house before and it's worth mentioning again. Looking out across vast acres of farmland with mountains in the distance is very satisfying. My mind does a great deal of deep pondering as I look out upon this view from my kitchen window. God's work is very apparent in even the simplest of scenes.
American Idol Cliches:
http://www.television.aol.com/show/american-idol/65307/tv-show-features/annoying-idol-habits
Worst 20 Performances. If you're having a slow night or afternoon YouTube these beauties. They are prime, embarrassingly fun entertainment:
http://www.television.aol.com/show/american-idol/65307/tv-show-features/worst-american-idol-performances
I came to the sad conclusion tonight that I am no longer watching AI because I have a favorite in which I have a vested interest in. My American Idol was voted off 4 weeks ago. I am now watching because I am a loyal fan and I want to see the final outcome. I don't even have a preference between the Davids as I really don't like either's style. I feel like I need to go to some narcotics anonymous or AA meeting with a 12 step program where I can stand at the front and admit, "Hi. My name is Emily Sellick and I'm an American Idol junkie, but I don't have a favorite and at this point in time I don't care who wins." Everyone repeat after me, "Hi Emily." Which step involves apologizing to those you've hurt? I will now complete that step...I'm sorry. I will however continue to critique performances with about as much gusto as one can have without having a favorite.
The Head: Besides making Ryan Seacrest look like the 5th Hobbit in search of the ring, he tries too hard...especially with his 'hungry like the wolf" look he peered at the camera with. Yikes! With his efforts he ends up overdoing the whole rocker thing. Both songs were boring and "Baba O'Riley" was tooooo slow and quite dull. A note to Paula...Ugh with the comments to David tonight. What planet did you just get back from? "Humbled to watch your soul," and "Big appetite for you". I can't rightly ever vote for someone who makes Paula have a big appetite.
Syesha: For me, by far, was the best tonight. She actually performed and sounded good. She looked gorgeous and sexy during "Proud Mary". Who knew she had such long legs? Is it ok for me to say she looked sexy? Can I appreciate a beautiful girl? I disagree with Simon, I thought she did great with "Proud Mary".
Jason C: After we lost Michael I had high hopes for this guy. I prefer his music vibe to any of the other ones left standing. I thought his stuff was not as big a mess as the judges did. It was fine to me, but I know he won't go to the end so I have lost interest. My dear cousin Jeremy thinks he looks like Minnie Driver, I however disagree and stick with a young John Travolta with dreds. He's not too bad to look at once you get past the stalactites hanging from his pretty little head.
David A: Fine. He always rearranges his songs so much they loose their original greatness. The gasping has got to quit too. I'm banking on him winning the finale...it's in the stars.
Tomorrow we get a performance from one of my favs Bo Bice. I always had mixed emotions about his hair. Sometimes it looked like it needed a good ol' trim and then other times I quite liked it. Let's hope he has his same charm tomorrow night.
Just a reminder of why I love Bo Bice. This is simple done right.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5D8ixbEShBA
Here is an endearing picture Olivia drew for me last week. It again reflects her vast knowledge of Helen Keller and the full, history changing life she led. Please give her large exceptions for her 2nd grade spelling of 'died'.
There are 4 things I especially like about this picture:
1) Helen's relaxed, yet reverent crossed arms.
2) Her pants. In Livvy's mind Helen was a tomboy who wouldn't have had to wear a dress like ALL the other girls in this time period.
3) The straight sun rays on the day she was born versus the crooked ones on the day she died.
4) The sun and the moon are both present.
A police officer will tell you swing shift on weekends is the best shift to work during a work week. That is when all the action occurs. There are more drunks out, more fights to break up and there is a whole lot more crime to stop. However, us buzz killing wives at home will tell you the best shift to work is day shift, which also happens to be considered by many a police officer the most boring. It's the one time of the year that we are on the same sleep schedule, I can be as loud as I want during the day, and James is home at 5:00 p.m. It feels almost normal. We are even able to watch a little t.v. together and I sometimes let him use the remote. The very best part of day shift is that 'date night' can actually happen. This is the ONE shift that is 100% conducive to having a life beyond work, home and children.
I'm not trying to boo hoo, but we haven't been on a true date for a l o n g time. Of all the reasons to get out of police work...the need for date night is above and beyond safety, mental wellness and $$$ security. Hooray for day shift!
Our babysitter had it easy last night. I had Tess in bed and the kids fed, popcorned, candied and watching a movie when she got here. I remember earning $1 an hour when I used to babysit and I did dinner, baths, beds, etc. Our dear little sitter, whom we love GREATLY, earned $5 an hour for chillin' for a few hours watching a movie with the kids. Now that's a great gig. Nate was even sad when he woke up in the morning and Bridgette wasn't here. I'm glad he missed me...
A date night for us is clockwork and is exactly how we like it. We dined at one of the millions of Mexican restaurants here in Burley and then went to see a movie. We were the only people eating dinner, I'm guessing due to the later hour and really enjoyed talking and laughing. And what do we talk about? Our kids! We need the few hours away from the little darlings, but they are who were laugh at, worry about and relish in. We also talked about other things, but you have to shrug your shoulders at where conversation always ends up..."You'll never guess what Nate tried to say today!"
It was then off to the movie with every single teenage boy in Burley, ID NOT at the Cinco Damayo party. As we sat in the lobby watching the various mini-testosterons walking around we'd point one out and say, "Oooo! I hope Mark doesn't look like him at 16!" or, "There is no way Livvy is getting out the door with a boy like that!" or "Finally! There is a clean, cut, handsome boy. We better freeze him for later!" I totally fear the teenage years. Can't we just skip that time all together and have our children magically turn into well rounded, gospel sided individuals? If only...
We really had no clue what Iron Man was about,
but left in love with the movie and in love with Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man was absolutely worth seeing and I would really like to see it again. It was action packed and appropriately funny. RD Jr. was perfect in this part and his timing and acting were superb. He is another actor that we don't have much experience with and we both found him to be very good at what he does.
With these thoughts in mind----Hire a babysitter and go have fun! We will be doing this again and again over the next 2 mos. trying to get in as much 'us' time as possible until the next shift change...or job change...
You think Tess goes flying high....check this out....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-flohmcvkGs
