Put down the rocket launcher and get out of the car sir.

So today's blog is a cautionary tale about the dangers of playing too many video games.
My husband is what you would call a gameaholic. His drug of choice right now is a little game called "Call of Duty" in which he, his brother and his friend from work take their little men dressed in camoflauge around a what looks to be a post apocolyptic city of some sort and shoot people, blow things up and pretty much cause all kinds of mayhem.
Mostly its innocent, there's a lot of yelling things like "dude look out!" and "oh my gosh dude, did you see that?!" and the like, which is all quite funny to listen to.
But then the other day it happened. My husband and i were driving down main street in Lehi, and he just started laughing out loud for no reason.
(On a side note, it should probably be mentioned that Lehi is about 5 miles east of a very large army base called camp williams.)
Anyway, as i said, laughing. Alot of it. To which i said, "um i think i missed something" to which he responded, "i just saw an army helicopter flying over head and thought to myself, i need to take that down"......I havent stopped laughing about it since.
Let that be a lesson to all you gamers out there. Enjoy your games, but never buy a real weapon of any kind. For if my husband had owned some kind of rocket launcher or large gun, we would both be sitting in an army prison right now.

A letter to my lost sister.

Dear Sheri,
Wow so much has happened in the 9 months you have been gone. I knew when i started this blog that this post was going to happen, and i thought memorial day weekend seemed appropriate.
Your girls are getting so big! They are funny, and beautiful. And every time Ava looks at me i see your giant blue eyes.
There were early mornings i spent with Ava where it was just her and me, and i was SURE you were there. I talked to you both and i hope you heard.
Our extended family is as crazy as ever, and i have had so many days when i was waiting for you to log into messenger so we could talk about it. You were the one who understood, the one who could laugh with me, and the only one i ever felt really WAS my sister. Its lonely for me in this family without you....
I MISS YOU. Probably more then you will ever know. I could cry every day if i let myself. But you will be happy to know that i dont. James and I talk about you so much, and we laugh, and remember. And sometimes we cry and remember.
We went to see your new headstone a few days ago, and are planning to go again tomorrow. Its so beautiful, and im glad its close by so we can go there often.
I hope you hear it when we talk to each other, your husband, and your children about you. And i hope you are there laughing with us when we discuss the latest events in our lives. And see the pictures of you we keep around us to remember you.
I love you sister, and i cant wait to sit and talk with you again someday. Oh my goodness the stories i have to tell you....
Wendi

Help Wanted: psychic life coach.

Is it just me, or does everyone wonder if free agency is such a gift sometimes.
Sometimes i think to myself that i wish someone would just tell me exactly what to do, and what will happen after i do it.
Like every week i just get some kind of transcript in the mail, telling me what will be going on this week.
It will say things like, "i know you think waiting a couple extra days before mowing the lawn wont be a big deal. But it will, and the lawn will be SO long that it will take you 3 times as long to mow then if you just do it today."
Or, "tomorrow, someone you love will be having a bad day, go buy them a giant candy bar".
It will tell me what to make for dinner, and a list of things i should buy at the store, so i dont have to go back for the ten things i forgot i needed.
There will be a list of already made appointments for the things i forget, like the vet, the doctor, or the dentist.
It will include a list of people i should help, or spend extra time with. People that might need me, or people i need who wont be around when I need them. With this section there will be a list of appropriate things to say that will be helpful, and also a list of the things i shouldnt say out loud...
Most importantly will be a list of things i am going to be sad, or angry about. So that i can be TOTALLY prepared to not overreact, cry for an hour, or say something i might regret.
Well until the day that someone becomes my psychic "life coach" and starts sending me these things, i guess im just going to have to keep making mistakes, saying silly things, and trying to be there more for the people i love. So dont be shy peeps, even if you just need a giant candy bar, im your girl.

Aloha Oe...

We sent out our first family missionary today.
My nephew Drew entered the MTC today to prepare for the difficulties that come with serving a mission in a hardcore, harsh weather, roughing it mission. Maybe you've heard of it, i think they call it Hono-lu-lu.... No im not kidding, my lucky nephew gets to spend the next two years in what i consider to be the most beautiful place on earth, Honolulu, Hawaii.
For those that know my family its a BIG deal for him to go there, and it is one of those things that makes you say, "hmm, yeah, the church is definately true" because out of the entire planet, our Prophet opted to send this boy to the one place on earth that means as much to my family as our home here does. God works in mysterious ways, and obvious ones too sometimes. :)
Its going to be a strange thing for my family to have someone so far away for such a long time. I'm so proud of him, and his example to all the kids in the family that are watching him closely, not to mention the example he is to me of true bravery for doing something i wouldnt have dreamt of doing at his age.
So props Drew, for being amazing, brave, a great example, and one of the funniest people i know. I love you.

My most interesting day of the week.

Tuesdays are by far my most interesting day.
I never know how they are going to go, am i going to get my nails done? or maybe get my hair done. or possibly have my make up put on. Or better yet, eat invisible soup that turns out to be dog food.
Well the truth is usually it is all of those things because i spend tuesdays with my two favorite girls in the world. My great-nieces Gracie, and Gabree.
Grace is 4 years old, and every week i get pretend make up, pretend nail polish, my hair thouroughly brushed, and fake food, all while she calls me "sweetheart" and tells me i look "gorgeous". Usually while this is going on, Gab is standing on my lap (as i sit on the floor in front of gracie's beauty chair) bouncing around, screaming, and covering my face in slobbery one year old kisses.
I LOVE these days! They make me laugh, make me smile, and make me exhausted and wonder how moms manage it 7 days a week. My hat is off to all you mothers out there, as much as i love fake soup, and looking gorgeous, it is a freaking lot of work!

I woke up on the wrong side of the seasons.

So it snowed today. Not like, "oh look its snowing in may" but like "HOLY FREAKING CRAP there is a blizzard in may".
Makes for a grumpy morning i'll tell ya that much. But i went forward with plans james and i made over the weekend of me taking him to work so i could run some errands in provo. And while i was out i bought myself something i have never had before. Are you ready?? Wait for it..... i bought my very OWN copy of the Book of Mormon.
I know, right? I should have one by now, but being the youngest of 6, mine was always a hand me down. The one i have been using most recently belonged to my husband's late grandmother. And i just cant bring myself to mark in it... i know its silly but i see her little notes in the margins, and the things she marked, and well, its just not mine to color in. :)
So even though the weather was crappy and made me angry, i still got to go shopping, which is always good, and we went to the cemetary to see my sister-in-law Sheri's headstone. It was just put in a few weeks ago. It's beautiful, and suites her perfectly.
It will probably be 90 degrees tomorrow, and we will all be moving sandbags to stop the flooding from the snow melt, but i guess that's life in Utah.

Here we go....

So i'm not going to pretend that anyone will really care too much about my opinions, or the things i think about. In fact if you had asked me a year ago if i had ever considered having a blog, i would have laughed. In truth, (and they say admitting it is the first step), i'm really not that interesting. I have no real opinions on politics, sports, the news, or most anything that most people would want to talk about.
I'm a thirty something married woman, with no children of her own, but definately not lacking being surrounded by loved ones. I have a ginormous family, in which i would like to think i am loved, or at least found entertaining at moments.... ;)
I think of myself as the "odd" one in my family. I have no love for country music, hunting, chick flicks, girls weekends/dinners out, and a number of other things that my loving family thrives on.
I was 23 when i got married, which was the oldest of all my siblings, and i was the only one that lived away from home for any length of time before they got married. My husband is a TOTAL computer/gaming nerd, and has never hunted anything in his life. And for anyone that knows my family, THAT is a big deal.
So why am i doing this?? its a valid question, and one i have been fighting with for months now. But i cant deny that the prompting has been driving me "straight up bananas" which is how we say crazy in our house.So here it is folks, the beginning of what may end in failure, or may only be something i do for myself that no one else reads :P either way, i feel better now that i have started, and there are MANY stories in my mind that i plan on sharing. But that's probably enough for now. Stick with me while i figure this out and you might be rewarded with a funny story or two, or maybe some interesting gossip, i guess we will have to wait and find out together. :)

My first day here.

So this is my first day here, well not here on earth, but here in blog world. Im altogether not that interesting, so this might turn out to be an epic failure, but it seemed like it might be fun.