the life of living with a boy

I got up this morning and decided to try something new with my hair, or at least something that I haven't done in quite a while... (as opposed to not doing my hair at all, which happens quite frequently!)

So off I go with pig tail french braids, and the ends tied under about shoulder length, and seek a little validation from the husband (you know- haven't tried this with the bangs, and I want to make sure it looks all right)

This is the part that I apparently forgot that living with a boy is distinctly different than living with your girl roommates, who also pretty much double as a full length mirror because they are so good at the feedback/validation thing...

Bobby's response:
"Looks good. Looks well-maintained" I with you could hear how the phrase well-maintained was kinda slowed down and drawn out.

His explanation went something like this- that I had managed to reign in all the hair into a very neat and tidy hair-do.

Well- maintained? I officially now feel like an equal to the interior of a car... well maintained. .... Boys!
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PS I just came into work and a co-worker (female) took a quick glance and said, "hey your hair looks cute like that."

"my little buttercup"

This was our Stake Valentines dance! We doubled with Zak & Tiffanie. It was the real life version of all those dreams I had for stake dances gone by!

Here are the Prom pose photos...

They even had a swing dancing contest (which I would just like to say- neither Bobby nor I have any idea how to do- we just did this crazy ska move that I always resorted to when "zuit suit riot" was playing!) and they walked around the room and picked the three best couples. Yes- we were quite proud when the announcer asked for the couple with the guy in a t-shirt with a tie and glasses. That's right folks... That would be my husband!! We won- and are now the proud owners of a Family Night Treat Plate for our prize! Wahoo!!!

Check out these Moves!

Apparently Zak and I have the same mouth opening syndrome... (although his IS a little scarier!)

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!

**mental note- I need to start working on using the red eye feature- either that or clearing it up a little with Photoshop- sorry if our red eyes scared anyone!!

I will admit, I am a view Snob!

Some of you may think that you are familiar with the Teton Mountains, but with utter snobbery, I would boast, that I bet most of you haven't seen them as beautiful as I have.

See, most souls are familiar with the Tetons via Jackson Hole. But I'm blessed to have a dear friend who lives in Teton Valley on the quiet backside of these gorgeous mountains. This is the view they wake up to in her house.

I first visited the Wilson Family and these mountains several years ago. It was a cloudy winter weekend and the Wilson was family was worried that I wouldn't understand the true beauty of this place if they (the Tetons) "didn't come out"

Likewise, Bobby just took his first trip up to Alta, WY after having heard the tales. It is like a small piece of heaven. But true to form, it was cloudy most of the weekend.

However, around 4:16 am, Meesh burst into our cabin, exclaiming that "they were out" and everyone had to wake up and see them in case it clouded up again before the dawn. There they were- the silhouette of these beauties. However, a disgruntled Bobby wasn't going to budge at that morning time, and instead just wanting to know why Meesh was screaming at him at this atrocious time in the morning! It was pretty funny, and I too was admittedly a little grumpy at the circumstance, but the clear midnight blue sky and silhouetted mountains against the shaded snow, was a pretty incredible sight. (I took a picture- but is it pretty much black- so insert imaginative black box here..)

Luckily, they were still out in the morning, and we went for a walk before the wind blew the clouds in again.

Here are a few more glimpses of our adventure!

Meesh and Bobby Icicle sword fighting!

Perpetual “stuckness” on the snowmobiles! (you can’t see it very well but we were getting stuck pretty deep)

And because we were struggling on the snowmobiles, Bobby gave me my own ride on the tube!

And of course, Snow Angels!

There are many more pictures of friends and memories. It was a great weekend get away!

The Greenie Fan

When I was a poor little "greenie" missionary in Bangkok- we took our free day and went to the Rose Garden. This is beautiful place, and also a trap for sucker tourists (and though I was not there as a tourist- I was a naive sucker none the less!) There were Thai people with traditional outfits on, painting scenes of this beautiful country, and I was drawn to it like a magnet.

I picked out a giant fan- Sure that this scene of the country I was growing to love- would be a great addition to my future household decor. (I would just like to make a side comment- that in this stage of my life, I had not yet embraced the thoughts of what kind of decor I would like- whether the things I collected from random countries would go together AT ALL or where/how I would use these items. Instead, I was pretty much embracing the "you like it you buy it" philsophy.)

No one told me this was a bad idea. Even my lovely trainer, neglected to mention many things. There was no mention of- "This is pretty early in your mission, do you want to wait and get one later?" or "are you sure that you want to carry that around for the next 13 months" or "are you even going to like this by the end of your mission?" "Do you really think you will like this when you get home?" or the trump card "What are you going to do with it when you get it home?"

No. None of these things were mentioned. Nor did they occur to me. I proudly and excitedly purchased my hand painted fan. And I carried it throughout my mission. I say carry- because I deserve to. This awkwardly shaped item does indeed fold up, but unbeknownst to me, would not fit in my large suitcase nor my backpacking pack (yes it is that large!) But it went everywhere with me. and I carried it on the plane coming home.

Thus it was one of the first things that my family saw. (and I sure wondered to themselves what I would do with it)

Meanwhile- one of my friends from the mission, Scottie, likewise purchased a giant, hand-painted fan (though he was smart enough to wait until the end of his mission to do so) And when he got home, his family teased him that he would never do anything with it. He wanted to prove that he infact would and we took a trip to Home Depot to try to figure out what kind of mounting would proudly display this on his bedroom wall.

Mine, however remained in my sister's basement (my roommates not being so keen on the fan decor) until my marriage to bobby, when I decided to grow up and take care of my own stuff (well most of it!)

For those of you who know Bobby, you will know that he does not like to keep things that he does not see a use for in the present or near future. Thus, the fan folded in the corner of our bedroom got consistent attention. Finally, it was even decided that I just needed to send it to DI. As its impending doom approached, someone (maybe mom porter??) Forbade it and reminded us of how much fun it will be to have our kids play with such things from our past. And since I am much more of a sentimental Smuck than Bobby, I pleaded its case and it returned to being folded up in the corner.

So now for the point of this saga! Not long ago, I came home and found that Bobby and cleaned up the bedroom and found niches and storage places for all the homeless items out in our bedroom (it looks so nice and clean now!!)

He had decided to embrace the fan, after all we were going to keep it anyway, and he jimmy-rigged a way to put it up on our bedroom wall! We thought it would be just funny for a few days- but it has grown on us and actually goes rather well in our bedroom. The fan has found its place!! (for now anyway) and our little bedroom is suddenly much more exciting!