Little Author

Scotlyn was one of 2 children in her class chosen to write a story and present it last night at her school's Writer's Night. She had to get up in front of everybody and read it aloud. She did GREAT! She was a little nervous, but she didn't show it. Good think we got the "googly eye" out first. . .whew! It was a marathon day! Good job, Scotty!

No school AGAIN

As Jill and I were leaving Book Club last night we saw snow all over and knew immediately that there would be no school today. I was thankful Jill was driving her big, safe Suburban because we made it home with no problems. It's not that it's a lot of snow, it's just enough that most Tennessee natives freak out and make mistakes. Turk, having never seen snow until we moved here (he was just a puppy) was growling at the snow and trying to chase it. Then, because he's such a pansy, whimpered at the door to be let in. He just keeps staring out the window. Coco is equally as stunned about each snowfall since she was only 16 months when we moved here and doesn't remember the state from whence she came and how it has the greatest snow on earth.

Girly-Girl

Everyday Coco's room has a pile of clothing laying in the middle of the room. While I'd like to blame it on her roommate, Scotty, so she can clean it up, I know that this is the work of my girly-girl. Coco insists on trying on several dresses each day. She will wear one for a couple of hours and then switch to another, and another. I am constantly tying, zipping, buttoning to suite her fancy. I know she feels glamorous each time because she twirls and asks, "how do look?".

Googly Eye!

I went to pick the girls up from school yesterday and as I'm waiting in the car line, Scotlyn's teacher comes up to the van window and tells me Scotlyn has (who later told me she was doing an "speariment") stuck a "googly eye" (commonly found on art projects) up her nose. Now, her teacher was a little panicked but, since I know Scotlyn's "speariment" history (she also stuck a glob of playdough up her nose once), I wasn't too concerned. . .until I couldn't see it in her nostril. I took her to the ENT doctor since her pediatrician didn't think they could get it out. It hurt her pretty bad to have them attempt to remove the "foreign object" and she wasn't going to let them until she found out that if they didn't she would have to have surgery to remove it. Thankfully, she complied and out came googly eye. Her "speariment" was concluded and her hypothesis was realized.

Little Sister Missionary

After church yesterday Scotty got a call from her non-member friend. They were talking about their day and Scotlyn said, "Listen, Kalaila, I just got home from church. . .What? You don't know what church is?? You know, it's where we learn about Jesus Christ." Her tone was exasperated and she used her hands (just like her mom) to emphasize. She's already becoming a little sister missionary! In fact, she also pretends that she's going on a mission by packing up a little bag and walking upstairs. When she comes down the stairs, she acts like she's getting off the plane and tells everyone how much she's missed them. We hope she keeps that goal of hers to go on a mission someday!

Music City Exploration

Jared has created his own blog about Nashville: www.whatisnashville.blogspot.com. The News Director's wife, Chris, also has a blog about Nashville: www.nashville-dailyphoto.blogspot.com. Check them out if you want to learn more about the great "Music City".

Jared's Make-Over

Check out the current News Channel 5 website while you can: www.newschannel5.com. It's getting a make-over in a couple of weeks. Jared's been re-vamping the whole appearance of the site for a couple of months. In order to fully appreciate the work he's done, you should check out it's current condition now. It is going to be much "prettier" when the new site is born. I'll post when the new one takes flight.

Get Your Girl Scout Cookies!

Bryn sold 88 boxes of cookies in just a week's time! Of course, most of them were from News Channel 5, but still. . .she did an awesome job collecting money and disbursing the cookies! When she was a Brownie I had to do most of the work. Now that she's a Junior she's matured a lot and insists on doing most of it herself. It's a great learning experience. Scotlyn is still a Daisy so she won't be able to sell until next year. She can't wait to be like her big sister!

MIGRAINE

I have been getting severe migraine headaches since I was in Kindergarten. In fact, I remember many of my Kindergarten, first grade, second grade, etc. lunches were spent in a classroom since the cafeteria food smells triggered a migraine for me. They did CAT Scans and other tests on me thinking I may have a brain tumor. What 5-year old gets migraines? I don't know why I still get them. The same things that brought them on when I was younger, don't seem to now. Last night I had a terrible migraine and all that accompanies it. While I was bent over the toilet, Scotlyn had her comments about how gross it was, but then she quietly brought me a plate of food (a banana, grapefruit, apple, and candy along with a glass of milk). Of course, I was too sick to appreciate her effort to help me feel better, but it just showed me that, even though she seems to be a little stand-offish, she is a sensitive, sympathetic child and I'm so lucky to have her. Thank you, Scotlyn.

Valentine

I was tagged, so here it goes:

What is his name? Jared, Jare-Bear, Honey
How long have you been married? 10 years, 8 months, 7 days
How long did you date? we met in September, engaged in January, married in June
How old is he? 32 (I'm a cradle-robber, or as he likes to call me. . .his sugar-momma)
Who eats more sweets? I think it's a tie
Who said "I love you" first? He did in on the bridge in front of the Las Vegas New York, New York Hotel
Who is taller? He is a whole foot taller than me! He's 6'4"
Who can sing better? Definitely him--He was in BYU Men's Chorus and has a FANTASTIC voice. He sings around the house all the time. He even sang to me at our wedding reception, along with his friend, Lee. They sang "The Rose" and played their acoustic guitars. It was very cool!
Who is smarter? He is on most things, but I can hold my own
Who does the laundry? He used to when I worked while I put him through school. Now I do--which has actually worked better for me since we now have our own washer and dryer and don't have to use the coin-operated apartment machines.
Who pays the bills? He does
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do
Who mows the lawn? He does every week (in the spring and summer). He loves his outside-the-home housework. He has lots of projects going on in our yard.
Who cooks dinner? I do on the weekdays, but he usually takes care of us on the weekends.
Who drives? He does because he says, "I want to live". What???? I am an excellent driver. . .
Who is more stubborn? That's a tough one. We are both extremely stubborn, but I think I give in more frequently than he does. So, I will say he is.
Who kissed who first? He kissed me!!! I was the first and last person he kissed, too. He promised himself long before he met me that when he knew he found his wife, he would give up his membership in the virgin lips club.
Who asked who out first? Well, his friend, Lee, asked me out in behalf of Jared for a buddy-ball. That's when you set up your roommate with someone and don't tell them who it is. Does that count?

Who proposed? He did--under the big tree on the Manti temple lot. It was an EXTREMELY sweet day!! I remember it very clearly.
Who has more siblings? He does--3 brothers, 1 sister to my 1 brother, 2 sisters
Who wears the pants? Depends on the issue. We have learned to pick our battles and we try to respect each other on the issues that one of is more passionate about.

CAUTION: The next paragraph is pretty cheesy, but true. Read at your own risk.

I love my Jared. He's an excellent father who is involved in every aspect of his daughters' lives. He's a romantic--named a star after me. He gets me medicine when I have a migraine. He still opens ALL doors for me, including the car door even if we are just in the garage coming home from the store. He makes sure my side of the bed is to my liking and temperature. He listens and understands who I am. He still smacks my behind when I'm cooking (I know, lucky girl, I am) Grrrr! He starts doing a silly dance with me when I'm mad at him to get me to lighten up. He loves the Savior, Jesus Christ. He dreams big and has an infectious enthusiasm about life. He's got a giant smile! I can't wait to grow old with him and see him spoil his grandbabies like grandfathers do. In the words of Martina McBride (come on, y'all, I live in the country music capital) he's "all I need, my love, my valentine". (awwwwww!)

Snow Day--No School!

I know, I know. . .those of you in Utah are laughing. The fact remains, today many middle Tennessee school were closed due to the snow and ice. The reason they do this when it barely dusts the ground is because they are not prepared for such weather here in the south. They do not have snowplows and salt to put on the roads. So, they do the most obvious thing and shut down life. Growing up in Alaska not only did we go to school in blizzards, but a normal summer include your occasional dusting of snow. It's actually quite humorous. The snow is mostly gone now (about 2:45 p.m. Central). Snow figure. . .

Book Worm

I've just finished the above books in the last few weeks. I loved all of them. They are all extremely different, but wonderful. I am going to choose "A Bride Most Begrudging" for my turn at Book Club. It is CLEAN, funny, and romantic. It's really a wonderful book and I highly recommend it. "A Memory Keeper's Daughter" is also a great book. It is about a family that gets torn apart over a family secret. It was intriguing. And, finally, the "Twilight" series, for those of you who have read them, I am on Team Jacob. I am now reading "A Northern Light" and am enjoying it so far. Have you read anything good lately? Let me know. . .

Twister

Thanks for all of your phone calls and emails regarding our safety. We are doing just fine. We are safe and our home and neighborhood were not affected by the tornadoes. As the tornado sirens sounded, the girls bunkered down in my bed because our bedroom is on the bottom floor near the closet were we would take shelter. Jared worked 24 hours straight and never came home last night because of the tornado situation and the election coverage--a very busy news day. He was driving home from work this morning and was so tired he had to pull over a few miles from home to take a nap. He will be going back today to help cover the story. All is well.

Walkin' In Memphis

We went to the Jazz vs. Grizzlies game at the FedEx Forum in Memphis on Saturday. It was so much fun! We went with the Allred's from our ward. They have four daughters that watched our three daughters and we were kidless! It was a blast! The Allred's are an awesome family that anyone should emulate! We walked on famous Beale Street and saw the statue of W.C. Handy (it's mentioned in the song, "Walkin' In Memphis" by Marc Cohn). We didn't have time to see Graceland but Jared and I saw that last year when we visited. We went to Hard Rock Cafe Memphis for dinner and at the game Gina and I kept annoying the guys with our noise makers! Everyone around us was a Grizzlies fan and since the Jazz kicked hiney well, you can imagine their response to us! Tee-hee!

Party

I forgot to take pictures of Scotlyn's party where 14 of her friends showed up. So, here are pictures from her actual birthday at home with the family. She loves her Tinkerbell necklace and her art supplies!

Smurfy

So, the girls got into the "kid makes-up" and woke Jared and I up to these blue faces. YIKES!!!

But I'm an Ar-teest!

Scotlyn got this dress from her friend, Caleb on her birthday. When she took it out of the bag, she asked if she could "color it". She's an ar-teest after all.

Excellent!

Bryn just got a high honor at her school. She is a Wright Knight for character and excellence. Only a few people in the school get that honor each quarter. She got a certificate and a coupon to go to a restaurant. She is so proud of herself and we are proud of her too!