Rock On!

Tonight we had a going-to-Arizona party for Ben and Jenny at our house, and it was soon decided that we needed a distraction for Andra or she might just kidnap little Scarlet from Grant and Sage. So, thanks to some fast-thinkin' and our Wii, we got everyone (almost--Jeremy and Maria would not subject themselves to the humiliation, apparently!) to rock out to Rock Band.


The girl band did much better than the boy band- with better dancing by far! Sage was on drums, Andra (who looks very serious) on bass guitar, Jenny on lead guitar and yours truly on vocals. I nearly hyperventilated we were rocking out seriously. You try dancing and yelling/singing at the same time!


Here we have the boy band- Grant on drums (he needed to rest his voice after a rousing rendition of Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive") Bob and Ben on guitars. These two were very serious and focused rockers. They would "dance" (a.k.a. "sway") in unison.


Jeff is on vocals here, singing "Say It Ain't So" by Weezer, and doing a fine job at it, too! Grant is demonstrating how, with perhaps a curly mullet, leather pants and no shirt, he could've been a true rock drummer. Also, you can see Bob on the upswing of his one and only dance move.

I just have to share....

Okay guys, I just have to share my good news of the morning!!!

One of my poems was just selected to be read at BYU-Idaho's semesterly Pre-Professional conference... AND it won first place in its category! The PPC is a big deal for English and Communication majors here at BYU-I. They always have all sorts of cool guest speakers (last fall it was Orson Scott Card) in addition to the student readings. I admit to being cocky enough to think my poems were good enough to be selected for reading, but I NEVER thought that any of them would win a prize—and I REALLY never thought that one would win FIRST place! I am, needless to say, seriously excited over here.

To read the full story check out my blog!

Apache Watson kids

Uber cuteness

The Feedblitz Subscription

Just an FYI--For those who depend on e-mail notification to know that someone has posted to the blog--you can use the new subscription box on the upper left. If you "subscribe" to the blog it will send you an e-mail complete with pictures when someone posts. I will still leave the googlegroup list up and running, but I've noticed that that just gives a brief description of what's been posted and the feedblitz subscription gives you the entire post in your inbox.

Vote for Cindy Lynn!

http://beingcindy.blogspot.com/2008/09/vote-for-pedro-or-cindy.html

If you guys could help Cindy Lynn get more votes in this scholarship contest we would sure appreciate it. You can vote every 24 hours until October 15th.

http://www.solvaycaresscholarship.com/winners-profiles/cindy-r.php

thanks!
Cindy

Lunch with Lilly

Laila was feeling sick today (not pregnant) and asked if I would come home for lunch and get the kids some food and in bed for naps. As soon as I got home Laila went and laid down (not pregnant) and soon after I had Josh in bed (who also is not pregnant).

Then Lilly and I had a little lunch date of chicken nuggets and grapes. Lilly said the prayer and it went something like this "Heavenly Father, thanks for the day, help me be good, bless mommy to feel better so we can put up Halloween decorations, Jesus Christ Amen." Now we know why a mom's good health is so important.

Later we were talking about when I would come home from work and how the Father and Sons camp out that had been planed was canceled due to the rain. She smiled and said "Yea, now we can go on the Princess camp out." The Princess camp out is much like a Father and Sons only with Princesses instead of sons and pink tents are strongly encouraged. She spent several minutes telling me the importance of having a pink tent but was finally satisfied that we could use the red kid tent.

I Am NOT Addicted...

It all started out August 22nd at Cindy Lynn's wedding luncheon. They had those little snack bags with, among other things, orangey, cheesy, delicious, crunchy Cheetos. I'm not talking about those puffy, air-filled ones. I'm talking about the stelagtite-shaped, crispy-crunchy ones. So, I grabbed a bag with my lunch.

Mmmm...nom, nom, nom.

I quickly found that one bag was simply not sufficient. For, I wasn't even a quarter of the way through my meal and my Cheetos were gone. So, seeing the supply was plenty, I grabbed another. Elaina, wishing to be done with her meal and not having touched her Cheetos yet was for the first time ever, relieved from having to finish everything she'd dished up for herself. Bag #3 was just as wonderful as its predecessors. Bag #4 was procured by similar methods, donated by my new favorite niece. Ah, my stack of shiny, orange bags with Chester Cheetah grinning up at me. Ah, sweet cheesy fingertips, stained in reminder of my snack.

But I am NOT addicted. They were just really, really good and I haven't had them in a really, really long time.

Next, I was flying to San Diego. For me, as soon as the plane starts taxiing, I start thinking about my snack and my drink. Really, come on. It's the only diversion I have in there. I'm waiting and waiting for my bag of nuts or perhaps a cookie, when the lady sitting next to me (who took my window seat, but I was an adult and didn't give her a hard time about it) produces from her handbag a huge, family-sized bag of Cheetos. So I, from the aisle, watch as she takes each cheesy, crunchy walking-stick-looking snack from her enormous bag and munches them throughout the flight.

Cruel, nasty window-seat-stealng...

Weeks later, there is a carnival at the kids' elementary school and they have, oh yes- Cheetos in little, snack-sized bags. However at this venue, quantities are monitored and the kids weren't so gracious. So what was I to do when, as I was walking through the aisles at Costco, there was a gigantic orange bag of seemingly bottomless Cheetos? What was I to do?

I'll tell you what I did- I bought them for the first time in my life! I bought chips which, besides the tortilla varieties, I never do. And then, I sat on the front porch with my friend Chelsy and we ate them. Not all of them, but many. And every day since I have eaten many more.

The other day Elaina spotted me with my beloved bag and, raising it in the air, she put one hand on her hip. "Mom," she said in a very disappointed tone.

"What?" I asked, defensively.

She looked at me, shaking her head. "Are you addicted?"

Guess the secret ingredient

We have a ward party tonight. We were supposed to come up with an unusual recipe using the secret ingredient. Any guesses? The other ingredients are powdered sugar, peanut butter and obviously chocolate.

I have a question...

So, I'm trying to get a blog going with the Smith family that would work like the Watson one. It's slow to take off, but I'm still hopeful. My question is this: how do I add people who can post to the blog? In the beginning I was able to add people, but now I can't find where to do that. Suggestions?

Thanks!

I'm coming out of the closet...

The blog closet, that is. After thinking about it for some time, I've finally started my own blog. It's been fun to have a quick & easy place to put my pictures & the thoughts that go along with them. I added a link to the side, and updated the links so that it shows when everyone has posted to their blog. Here's some fun from our house today. (Click on the words below.)

The family that DDRs together stays together.

Happy Happy Birthdays!

Tonight, we had Matthew's 3rd and Evan's 1st birthday party. It was so hard to get a good picture of Matthew because he was really busy enjoying the tractors he got for presents. Evan, on the other hand posed very nicely for quite a few shots. He did not, however, attack his birthday in the usual 1 year old Stowe fashion. I guess this means that he is a unique individual!

S Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Family history

This is scientific proof that the Look-alike meter works!! When our kids are crazy they are more like Laila.

S Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family search - Roots

S Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

S Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Vintage images - Genealogy sites

Funny Funny

Got this in an email and thought you would enjoy it.

***************************************************
After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet,"
which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics
correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then
pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. *Never let it be
said that ground crews lack a sense of humor.* Here are some actual
maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (marked with a P) and the
solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.



By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an
accident.



P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.



P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed o n this aircraft.



P: Something loose in cockpit
S: Something tightened in cockpit



P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.



P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.



P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.



P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable l evel.



P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.



P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.



P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.



P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.



P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious.


P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.



P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.



P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget
pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

A Walkabout

Hi.
Em and i went for a walk.
In some random Front yard, we saw some bears...
thought you might not have seen bears lately, so we took our super powers (use of camera phone) out and got busy!
nice, eh?

Ok, who is getting married next so I can give a try at making this cake???? Isn't it awesome?

The sweetest thing...

I'm not sure why, but this little moment of watching Carter was really sweet to me. He was just so uninhibited...

Laila update

Well, I have lots of random pictures to share with everyone, but first and foremost are pictures for Jeff and Jeremy to envy. Oh yes....poison ivy time for me...AGAIN. However, this time I actually have bubbly oozy poison ivy, which I don't think i have been blessed with before. So here you go AGAIN brothers. Eat your eyes out because I know you are envious. And just incase you were wondering, yes, it is all over my forearm, the picture just isn't very good!
Ok, I am no pro. photographer, but these are the pics we got of Hunter and Lilly's first days of school this year. Yes, Hunter is displaying his attitude, and yes, I actually took Lilly's after she got back home, but we got the pics. At least we got the pics.

Joshy taking a break with his feet kicked up on the dinner table (take a close look at those feet..yuck!!!) Next he is enjoying some ice cream after his bought with hand-foot-mouth disease. After being very sad for a few days, he then got very happy for a few days. That was NICE!!!


Here are some of our amazingly beautiful tomatoes. I have been awe-struck by the perfection in which these cherry tomatoes grow. Both our cherry and grape tomo's are going wild. I am definitely a grape tomo fan though (thanks Jeff and Amber.)

Which curtains (the long ones in the dining room) Both are unfinished, but the full red ones are free. The brown/red two tone ones will cost me. Both may save me a little bit over the winter if I close them at night.

9-11-08 Scarlet Watson is her name.

It's official. Baby #3 Watson was born at 3:30 PM, September 8, 2008. 7 pounds, 3 ounces, 21 inches long, 3 weeks premature. She was born early because of Sage's gestational diabetes, increasing the risk of still birth with every passing day. Baby #3, strangely enough, has been the healthiest so far, needing only about 5 hours of respiratory help and monitoring. Mama is doing very well after a serious bout of nausea; she doesn't do so well on the heavy pain killers.

Initially she looked like Lizzy, then Suzy, now... kind of like her own little girl. But I'm not surprised that she's a cutie. As soon as we can think of a good name that isn't a made up Utard name, we'll let everybody know.

CL's durham reception

I didn't really have an indoor contingency plan for CL's reception here. We were going to have the food inside, and put the line & the tables outside on this lovely patio. The clubhouse that we rented was really beautiful, but the inside layout is a bit strange. I had looked at the pictures over & over trying to decide how I could do it inside, and I never did figure anything out. But I didn't think it would really be a problem. Remember--we've been in a drought for some time now.

So Jason & I went over to the clubhouse at lunchtime and met the guy delivering tables & chairs. We set them up on the back patio, but decided not to put the tablecloths on until later. After everything was set up and we'd moved some things around inside, we came back home & I had a nap. Apparently it rained, and hard, during my nap. When we got back to the clubhouse there was a ton of water on all of the chairs, and lots of standing water on the higher patio. It became quickly obvious that more rain was indeed likely. Fortunately for me Ken (Alisyn's husband) and 2 friends from the ward had come to set up different things. They kicked into high gear and figured out how to make the inside of the clubhouse work. It was amazing. On my own I would have sat & cried probably. But they just kept moving things and working with what was there, and in the end it was beautiful. We ended up putting the line in a big room with french doors (out to the wet patio) all around.

You can see the food area in the last picture--the one with Jared strutting his stuff. We moved the furniture away from the fireplace and moved in tables for food, and it worked great. Then we had a few tables for people to sit at in the room past this one, but we don't have any pictures. I was really pleased with the way it turned out--everyone seemed to have a lovely time. The food was amazing (thanks to friend Nancy) and there were 2 chocolate fountains (thanks to the difficult seminary teacher!) with lots of goodies there. (Thanks to friend Sherry.)

Now that it's alllllll over my house is a mess and I am EXHAUSTED. But I figure--it took a while to get this way, it's probably going to take a while to really recover...

Tropical Storm Hanna....

Just in case you were wondering how Cindy Lynn's OUTDOOR wedding reception went....here are the rainfall totals for the last 24 hours!!!

I'

I often think of the military lifestyle and how rigorous it can be. Lately, they seem to be upping it by notches. For instance, I have been forced away from my family for the second time in less than two months, this time to perform a commando raid on a little Spanish school in Merida, Mexico, with follow on mission to places of historical import, such as Chichen itza, shown top. Since they are persistent leetle bogers at the school, we go most days to fight with them, but since it is so hot we cool off in a water hole of sorts before the fights, then inbetween, then again at the end.
Well, time to gear up for a two day a two day battle to the south, I'll send images to chronicle my sufferings. If I make it.

We missed you all, and it was beautiful....

Thought you guys might enjoy some pictures from tonight. First, a pic of the little watching the font fill. That was interesting for about 5 minutes. Then they had a great time running around in the dark gym.










Here is a picture of all of us right before the baptism. CL forgot to grab her husband, and we were running late. So he isn't in this picture. But he's in a whole lot of pictures from the wedding, so we figure it's well documented.

Jason baptized Jared, and Russ baptized the girls. It was definitely a cool mommy moment.




And here they are afterwards. I had no idea that two baptized girlies could be SO SOPPING WET!! The bathroom floor was covered water. I have no idea how the boys bathroom floor was, but probably not as bad because Jason & Russ were only half wet.

Be There or Be Square

For all of you withing driving distance:

Remember it's Robby's Eagle Court of Honor tonight. Our ward is not really great about these sorts of things, so I'm depending on family to make it a very special event! I did think about doing a family dinner beforehand, knowing that food is the only reason anyone ever drives ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE! But then my head threatened to explode, so we will be feeding you cake and ice cream afterwards.

Genealogy Info

OK Folks,

I have it almost completed, but there is still some info I'm missing on some of your families. Anyone who supplies me with their complete info will get a copy of the full family file. How's that! Here's what I'm missing:

Margaret: I need Lincoln's and Isaac's place of birth (City, County and State)

Jenny: I need your place of birth (City, County, and State)

Grant and Sage: I need your marriage date.

Sam and Emily: I need your date of marriage, and Emily's year of birth as well as place of birth. Also, your parent's full names (Mom's maiden name).

Cindy Lynn and Mahon: I need Mahon's information: date and place of birth, BIC?, Parent's full names (Mom's maiden name)

I have everything else. There's a prize for whomever gets me their info first!

Love to all,

Nanna

Speaking of the cake....

It was truly a masterpiece! And it even survived sitting in the hot sun. Thank you, thank you Andra!