25 x 3

Ok. Typical tag game. This one is 25 things about me. I was tagged three times (does that mean I have to come up with 75 things?) by Brianne Huwe (Walker). Matt Walker. Matt Hull. I feel like I should be able to combine those three names into one really cool one, but I'm not sure how. Oh well. I'm also supposed to tag 25 (sheesh!) people, but I don't wanna, so you're all off the hook (cuz you guys are off da hook man!), unless ya wanna be on the hook (does that mean really lame?) Anyway. Here we go.

1. I love Nilla Wafers. I bought a box at Safeway the other day because they were on sale. Only the Nabisco kind, and plain. Maybe dunked in milk. Don't ruin them with bananas and pudding please.

2. I love/hate being a stay at home Mom. If I could just play with Austin and not worry about messes, dishes, laundry, bills it would be the bestest job ever.

3. I am a semi-slob that aspires to be a neat freak. Now if only there were some way I could do it without cleaning every free minute....

4. I, like Matt Walker, LOVE to read. It is my favorite thing to do. I find myself sitting on the couch reading while Austin plays. A lot.

5. Also like Matt W. I eat the things I like least first. I do it because I want to have the best taste left in my mouth and in my mind instead of the worst.

6. Both Walker children have stated that there is a movie quote for everything in life. That may be true, but better yet, there is a Seinfeld quote for everything. And they can all be found on his CD "I'm Telling You For The Last Time." Trust me. My friends and I proved it over and over again on our weekly trips to Seattle for dances. We would pretty much hold two hour conversations doing nothing but quote that CD. I wore my copy out. Funny story; I didn't really like Seinfeld too much until my first year in college when my professor interrupted us during a test to play part of that CD. I was hooked. And one girl actually got really upset about it even though he said anyone wanting more time could come back later and finish the test (aka go home and look up all the answers).

7. If I see someone get hurt (not too seriously) I laugh. I don't mean to, I just do. And I feel really bad about it.

8. I am a crusties picker. I can't stand my kids having crusties on or in their nose. Diaper changing time is a perfect opportunity to look up their little nostrils for boogies.

9. I want to be a published author. I don't care if it's a kids book or a chapter book of some sort. I guess I should probably start writing huh? I do have one kids book written, I just don't know how to go about getting it published.

10. I am a huge fan of The Office despite the fact that Rainn Wilson went to UW.

11. I love the smell of clean laundry but hate actually doing it. Maybe it's because I have to sit on the washer during its two spin cycles and our dryer has an annoying anti-wrinkle thing where it turns on and off intermittently once the normal cycle is done. It does it For-ev-ver. Also, I found the best clean laundry smelling fabric softener. If they quit making it I will go lay down in front of their offices and protest until they either make it again, or give me a lifetime supply. (it's by Bounce)

12. I love to play games. Card games, board games, whatever. Zach hates them. Well, not hates. But he does hate playing games with just two people.

13. I love to swing dance. And I was pretty good before I got married. Now we don't dance. (He doesn't like to even though he danced all the time when we were dating.)

14. I am a huge Cougar fan. I will be until the day I die. They may not be the best at everything (or anything depending on the year). But that is part of what endears them to me. There is a lot of school spirit here and it's awesome.

15. I used to be a Huskies fan because my childhood crush was. It waned around middle school, then I stepped onto the WSU campus my freshman year in high school. It was love at first sight. I knew where I was going to college.

16. I am ready to take a shotgun to the 4Runner. We've put $1000 into it in the past month and it broke down again yesterday. Shotgun to the front, sledgehammer to the windows....I may sell hits like they do at fairs and carnivals. It would pay for itself.

17. My wedding bouquet was nothing like what I wanted. But it the day of my wedding, we were in Portland, the florist was in Winlock.

18. I love deep conversations. Having to really think about things. Figure out how things work. Things that take a lot of thought. But since I'm a SAHM, I feel like I don't get mentally stimulated often and I'm losing the ability to really think.

19. When I was in school, I stayed on top of all the sports happenings. I knew players, coaches, plays, strategies, standings, all of it, without even trying. I could hold my end with the best of the guys. Now I'm clueless. Maybe because we don't have TV and I'm not immersed in that culture anymore. I really miss it. I still read SI, but it's not the same.

20. I love watching Austin play. I love letting him explore and do. Even when he makes a mess. I only get frustrated when I'm focused on having a clean house. When I'm focused on Austin I could care less and I am immensely happy.

21. I used to make fun of people that went to midnight showings, especially Star Wars. When Zach and I were dating I went to a Star Wars midnight show with him. I still make fun of those people, even though I am one now.

22. I love chocolate. I have a hard time turning it down. I avoid the candy aisle whenever possible.

23. I miss being in college and living the carefree life. I do wish I had attended class more and done better in my classes. Studied. That sort of stuff, but I had fun. I also wish I had picked a different major.

24. Zach is the best husband a girl could ask for. I am so grateful for him and I wish every day that I was a better wife.

25. Austin is such a blessing. I love spending each day with him and watching him grow and learn. He is my joy.

Toiletries

Deana Hotchkiss' daughter wrote this. Thought I would share with you.

Before anyone becomes a parent, they receive all sorts of advice, warnings, parenting and disciplining tips, and good wishes. As great as this is, I wish someone would have told me how much of my life would involve cleaning up, being covered in, talking about, lamenting over, and being completely embarrassed by poop and pee. I wish there was a more graceful way to say it, so Jeffry-a man who grew upset when I told Wesley what farts were and insisted we use "toot" instead-has suggested euphemizing the words. For the rest of this blog entry, pee will be referred to as "tinkle" and poop as "squeegee". You're welcome, Jeffry. Moving on...from the newborn that noisily explodes its pants during the prayer in relief society to the messes involved with potty-training, tinkle and squeegee are a constant of every young parent's life. Here are just a few charming anecdotes from recent months.

We attempted-and failed miserably-to potty-train Evan over the Christmas break. Evan's stubbornness is monumental; I pray for strength to combat it the next time that I try. Because of our optimistic attempt, we had toilet-toppers in the bathrooms (little snap-on toilet seats that make it easier for the youngins to perch). One morning I heard Wesley screaming downstairs. As he tends to not have a "quiet voice" (a fact brought to my attention by the primary president in our old ward), I took no notice until he came stumbling upstairs, with his head stuck in Evan's toilet seat. The look of misery on his face says it all.

During sacrament meeting last week, Evan set the hymnals on the seat, lifted up the covers to rest against the back of the pew, and proceeded to climb onto them and pretend to use those hymnals as "toilets". Because I was reverently pondering the sacrament, I took little notice until Evan climbed off and informed me that he was going squeegee.

As I was receiving a spiritual message from my visiting teachers a few months ago, unbeknownst to me, Wesley was downstairs with my visiting teacher's two little girls, tinkling into a Legos bucket. Traumatized, the girls came up and told their mom that "a little boy down there tinkled into a bucket in front of us." I disdainfully dismissed their claim, saying he had never done anything of the sort before. Later however, I discovered the freshly christened bucket, and Wesley's answer to why he had done such a thing was, "I wanted to show them." This proves that God has a sense of humor, because in my pre-child days, when my attitude towards mothering was both haughty and naive, I was horrified when one of Jeffry's advisor's little boys tinkled on a tree right in front of a group of us at a party. To Jeffry later, I chastised the kid's parents, labeling them as softies with no discipline of their children. And there you have it. My judgment day has come. Not surprisingly, my visiting teacher no longer brings her little girls over.

And, as I change one more dirty diaper that Evan kicks onto me, covering me with squeegee, I look forward to the day when I can wash my hands of this matter, once and for all.

Go Cougs!

Even though the Cougs haven't fared too well in their last couple of games, we still love them. Here we are with our best friend Butch. Austin is a little overwhelmed, but he's not doing too bad. He sat with Butch for a good minute or two while I got my camera out and all. (We had just come in the door and had our winter coats on and everything.) And honestly, me and Butch, we're like this. We worked together when I was at WSU. Go Cougs! Butch, as always, you ROCK!

Some Pictures from the "Holiday"

"Christmas" morning in his new clothes.

Here are some pictures from my parents. If you know the west side, you know this is insane! They had at least 18 inches.

Some ice pictures.

When I got back to Pullman. 12/23
This Monday 1/5 (About 2x the snow)
Today, Thursday, 1/8

What? No more pictures?

Go To School!

Ok, it sounds like a command, but it's not. (If I'm using my its/it's wrong let me know. I forget which one is possesive and which one is a contraction.)

Poor Zach. We were supposed to be in Peru until yesterday, so today was supposed to be his first day of class. Since we were here, he was going to go starting on the first day like a good little boy. Monday - roads closed. No class for Zach. Tuesday - 4Runner breaks down on his way to class. He gets there with 20 mintues left of Anatomy and Physiology, so he misses that, but makes the other two. Today - he made it! Yay!

And we're still waiting on the estimate for the 4Runner. Looks like it will be $500-$1000. Yuck.

The Trip That Wasn't

So hopefully you've read "Adventures in Ellensburg." If not, go back and read it first, because that's how this adventure began. After that, we arrived in Winlock to a little skiff of snow, which quickly became a huge drift of snow over the next few days. Worst winter since 1940. No exaggeration. The weathermen were all saying it. Mom and Dad easily had 18 inches. Unheard of in their neck of the woods. We bought me a plane ticket to Spokane, then changed our minds since all the flights were being cancelled. We changed it to fly me back once we got back from Peru, and I took off for Pullman Tuesday morning. We decided this Monday night after Austin had gone to bed, so I was a bit sad. I was going to have very limited time with him the next morning, since he wakes up after 8 and I was trying to leave by 9.

Tuesday morning Austin woke up just before 8 (I was going to get him up if he wasn't up by 8.) We had breakfast and a makeshift Christmas. I held him in my lap while he was watching Cars for a couple minutes. Then I quietly slipped out while he was still engrossed.

The trip back was snowy, but uneventful. About 8 hours driving I think. It's normally about 6 1/2. Zach was at work but had left me a wonderful note that I will never forget. I have the most wonderful husband in the world.

We hung around snowy Pullman sans Austin for a couple days, then spent Christmas Day with his family as we waited to head to Spokane. We drove up to the hotel, checked in, and swam and ate overpriced microwaveable food from their food cart for dinner. Lights out at 8, so we could try to get some sleep before our 3:45 wake up call. We were all up at 3 anyway.

Shuttle to the airport for 8 with 13 suitcases and 8 carry-ons. I'm sure the driver didn't like us much. Check in, go to our gate. I haven't flown since before 9-11, so the taking off of the shoes and all was new. I forgot about my belt that has "47 million" metal grommets on it, so I was thoroughly confused as to why I set off the metal detector.

Anyway, once at the gate, our flight is delayed because the jetway is frozen solid. Taxi to another gate, same thing. Third gate's the charm, we board, and worried about our connecting flight from SLC to Atlanta. Start to taxi out, and the pilot notices a vibration in the left engine, back to the gate. We are free to get off the plane, so a few do. We just get back on when Scott tells us to get off, we're not taking this flight. Shortly thereafter it's announced that no one is, plane delayed until 3:45pm. It was a 6:00am flight.

Scott's scrambling to get us there. If we go through SLC, we can't get to Atlanta until Sunday (it's Friday) We're taking turns sitting on luggage and standing in line, trying to get to Peru. Finally, around 1pm, Scott lines up flights from Spokane to Seattle (leaving at 1:30) to San Francisco to Atlanta to Lima, only getting us there a day late.

Here arises the next problem. We would miss our flight from Lima to Cusco and wouldn't be able to get there until Tuesday, and then be ready to go Wednesday. We were supposed to be there Satuday. We would miss a big chunk of our trip and the purpose behind it. As they're boarding, Scott tells the guy on the phone "Well, I think we're done." Trip Cancelled. Bummer. Scott and Sharon are sweet and buy me a ticket on the leaving flight to go get my son. I fly out to Seattle and Jason picks me up.

The biological Adams family spends the night at the Davenport, spends a day in Spokane then heads to Couer d'Alene and plays at Triple Play. (Bummer for me!) I am, meanwhile, stuck in Winlock, desperately wanting to get home. Monday we make a run for it. Mom drives me to the pass and has to drive through snow and ice (which she absolutely HATES. Chains were required unless you had 4 wheel drive, which we did.) and meet Zach and Scott just on the other side.

We have all been bumming around Pullman what seems like forever, now with Tin Man. It's hard to believe we still wouldn't be home yet if we had been able to go. Zach's classes started today, which he would have missed had he been in Peru. The roads south were closed, so he got to skip anyway. And that's how we spent our Christmas vacation.