Sempre la stessa!

at grandpa cal's & grandma rachel's 64th wedding anniversary west decided charlotte was 'big enough' to be held & not broken. charlotte was happy, until she saw who the photographer was:

the sAmE eViL woman who tries to talk to her older sister madison!

for those who didn't know, peace & quite can be purchased! i think this was back in june. i asked west what he wanted for father's day & his response was "peace & quite". well, me, being a cReAtiVe sOuL & completely understanding & sympathizing with his sincere request purchased exactly what the step-dad ordered! a basketball hoop for the rancous, wild, untamed, part indigenous, part non-indigenous, often spitting at the mouth, entirely ADHD activated & driven, poor sugar processing pirate species: the children. although only the specimen know as 'levi' would 'vogue' for our photographers to demonstrate how the peace & quite machine works. the good thing is that no species is inmune to the pull & influence of the peace & quite generating machine (we've had small neighorhood children wander over & try to play while their parents are screaming at them, "get away from there!" . . . yeah, you might have fun;)

Uno ragazzo e la tua moto . . . . . .che bello;)

west & i got this hair brained idea to buy motorcycles & explore abandoned mines. while the mines are ok, the bikes are aWeSoMe! i love irritating the neighbors after a hard day at work or w/ the kids by riding my bike around the neighborhood & business parking lots. its gObS of fun, until the cops show up . . . but they have to catch me first & they got nOtHing on me! hee, hee, hee, hee . . . . . .

this was taken about 2 months ago the day west & i ran away from home & the children to buy his bike, a yz250, from mapleton, utah. west says it reminds him of the dirt bike he owned when he was younger.

this is from our weekend trip to gold hill, located between the utah/nevada border. on the way home, the truck developed a hole in the radiator & we (through much prayer & miracles) temporarily repaired the hole in the radiator w/ gum & road tar while filling the radiator with water from the kind strangers who stopped to offer help. we both decided we've had enough of wendover,nv 's 'lights, old people, & smoke'. at least the food in the cheap hotel was gOoD & cHeAp and the rooms were cLeAn & cOoL;)

this is one of the abandoned mines at gold hill in the middle of nowhere. i think the only 'gold' we found that day was gObS & GoBs of peace & quite;)

La vita della festa, sempre!

the rEaL spiderman!

i think this was taken at the big combination birthday party for nick, sara & savannah at nick & ambers' place in riverton. today, nick wAs spiderman!

we learned that spiderman is a cars fan (nick's choice in footwear) & that sometimes, when spiderman's webspinners are clogged, broken (or prohibited from use by mom) that spiderman is forced to use alternative transportation. his first choice is his sister's pink & purple disney princess' bicycle w/ coordinating training wheel accessories;)

so, spiderman really does have 'cOoL' coordinating transportation tattooed with all of his logos & big corporate money sucking paraphernalia, but he pReFerS to ride his sister's pink/purple big corporate money sucking disney princess tattooed paraphernalia bicycle w/ coordinating training wheel accessories. why?! well, obviously because his 'spidermobike' dOeSn'T have coordinating training wheel accessories! if he performed aLL of his own stunts on that thing, he could get hUrT . . . & that is a risk he is nOt willing to take, but it is a risk he is willing to let his sister assume! as we see here, she defuses the risk by using the bike to pick up on a hot older man (gOoD cHoiCe!) to act as her coordinating training wheel accessories! pretty sMaRt chick;)

emma decided any set of wheels will do, living dangerously, & chose the unsteady & outlawed-for-adults but safe for a child because it is lower to the ground 3-wheeler. actually, it is a 5 wheeler because her feet, even if they could reach the pedals, don't know how to operate the pedals, so this vehicle is eNtiReLy safe for toddlers. . . . or so the government says.

while the indigenous toddlers were busy fulling their responsibilities to make LoTs of nOiSe, adam, being from the non-indigenous teenage species, acted annoyed, irritated, picked upon & punished for having to come by stagging a solo quite protest. it had some benefits. no child asked him to play all day long;)

kt was, well, being from the non-indigenous teenage species as well, cRanKy. she interacted a bit more, using the avoidance passive techniques: steady gLaRing w/ a rEaLLy scarey scowl on her pretty face! it worked. while she was asked to play, no child followed through on their offered invitations, choosing to scatter & stear clear. i think she wanted to leave because she had some hEaVy texting she could only do from home . . . yeah, weird, but that is charateristic of the species;)

abbie, being caught in making the transition from the indigenous child species to the non-indigenous teenage species would not let me take her picture. she was wearing a hOt sweatshirt on the 90* day because it was nEw & the young typically shed their skin so they need extra insulation! she was one of the brave ones who attempted to penetrait k8e's scowl defenses & was, sadly, unsuccessful. her turning away from the camera is an early sign & characteristic of the unavoidable transition she will make to fully join the non-indigenous teenage species . . . . sigh:(
this is a rArE & never before sEeN photo of the rancious, rowdy, part indigenous, part non-indigenous, fully ADHD activated & driven, open mouthed, & first time capatured, pirate species. they are most active at night (when they should be sleeping) even though they are nOt nocturnal. they crave & beg for gObS & GoBs of sugar but lack the capacity in their immune systems to process gObS & GoBs of refined, blood level rising, teeth enamel destroying sugar. feared by aLL adults & sought out by aLL children, this specimen is one of the few being studied up close by a poorly trained & unspecialized team of unqualified scientists (aka: parents) purly for the scientists torture, learning & growth. every child asked this specimen to play & every child cried when this specimen was captured by the sexy, young, man whom sara flattered into acting as her coordinating training wheel accessories. all adults relaxed once this specimen was safely contained within the reinforced invisible shield protected minivan. the extent of the scientists torture is astronomical, requiring gObS & GoBs of mind altering drugs with irreversable aging side effects (aka: wrinkles, gray hairs & unlaugh lines). dependent upon the extent of torture, learning & growth experienced by the inexperienced scientist will be the determination of whether this type of experiment & catch & raise program will either be embraced & continued or permenately discarded with records being buried with hitler's body in area 51 (ask grandpa cal & grandma rachel about this one;)

La torte chocolate!

fun family photos;

i've had in my phone fOreVer!

i think this photo was taken at the blessing of Charlotte at Jeff & Nicoles' old house in provo. Madison was rEaLLy cUtE with chocolate all over her face & it was the first time she didn't start crying or running to her mother to save her from the 'mean lady' when i tried to talk to her.

brooklyn kept telling me: take mY picture! i can ride a bike!

then savannah copied her sister: take mY picture! i can ride a bike too! . . . savannah also told us that madison "doesn't know how old she is" & she was right. when we asked madison how old she was, madison said 3 (she's only 2) . . . wait until she is 40, she'll know & the eNtiRe wOrLd will know (& cOnsTantLy remind he) of her age;)

nick had to get in on the camera action too! i can't remember which superhero he was this day. i think my favorite is still tinker bell. amber says he puts on wings (i think they are purple) & carries his wand & runs around the neighborhood w/ the neighborhood girls (the neighborhood is deficient in little boys) . . . he has an aWesOmE imagination & i liek playing superheros w/ nick;)

don't tell amber i have her picture . . .

miss sara was rEaLLy cute playing 'fill the front bicycle's basket with rocks from the back driveway' just a few minutes after this photo was taken. as you can see, sara is as bEauTifuL as her mother;)

ya'all come back again now!

La viTa piU beLLa;)

Milestones

20th High School Reunion: 2006

ok, so i don't liek blogging about myself (feels liek i am bragging) but as i have now reached the "age of maturity" by the world's definition, i've come to appreciate my roots & my wings (liek a country song talks about) that were developed while attending high school in the arm-pit-of-the-world bUhL, iDaHo. it was here, at buhl high school with the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state of idaho, that my killer sense of humor (which was so kEy in attracting & marrying my wiLd, WiLd, wEsT) was forged. (yes, here, nOt in mOrdOr!) it was here i learned kindness, appreciation & respect go farther than verbal insults, excuses & harsh stereotypes which carried me through difficult classes & encounters at the U with individuals cOmpLeteLy oPpoSitE in their beliefs & opinions from mine. i learned my need to "discipline (myself) without complaining" (as one of my teachers cOnsTantLy reminded me!) without blaming others & it was here that i learned a gOoD fiLteR is critical in creating & maintaining a healthy self-esteem(that was the day my chemistry teacher lectured me for asking to attend a cheerleading meeting that my advisor scheduled during his classtime by telling me i was a "LoSeR", "sTupiD", and "nEveR gOiNg tO gO aNywHerE iN tHis LiFe") . . . i should've mailed him my graduation announcement;)
at my 20 yr class reunion, i realized i had these amazing women (& others not present in this photo) to thank for their examples of friendship, kindness & laughter. harsh words and actions were forgiven & forgotten and replaced with a genuine concern & appreciation for the part we had each played in our personal lives. (left to right: carrie (working on pHd in colorado), liz (archelogist, wife, mother of 19yr old son, & now electrician studying for her journey man's exam in oregon), me & pam(wife to the wEirDeSt kid in our high school class & teacher in boise, idaho). thank gOoDnEsS i wasn't given nOrMaL friends;)

some say 40 is the old age of youth & the youth of old age. i say (liek my niece ashley says) they're a bunch of dUmB mOrOnS!

getting old sucks, i'll be honest! i had been dReaDing this birthday more than any other . . . everywhere i went i got the often quoted & laughed at & sTupiD cliches: 'you're only as old as you feel', 'you're 40 years young', 'it's all a state of mind' . . . it's aLL a bUnCh of cRap & a socially accepted opportunity/ritual to fling humiliating insults/gems of truth& reality(?) at individuals we feel threatened by & jealous of (just liek any gOoD hard fought political campaign!)
in my deny council at the U, the assist dean (whom i have forced into having a friendship with me because i have pested him for 3 yrs with admissions questions, who has shared his law school admissions story & other personal stories with me over the years & whom advised me to extend my bachelor's graduation to complete my honors degree for law school) had the aRrogAncE to tell me that my personal statement for law school was "iNmAtuRe" for "sOmEoNe Of my agE"?! (he is about my age!)why is it that just because i am successful at avoiding & cheating myself out of an early death by living to 40 that suddenly eVeRyoNe eXpeCts wiSdoM to ooze out of my mouth in eVeRy sTatEment to guide them?! liek anyone listened to me bEfOrE i achieved the crowing-glory & ripe-old-age of 40?! & why should i have to nOw worry about wearing clothes that are always 'agE aPprOpRiaTe'? i know aLoT more 20 & 30 somethings that should worry about this one because they want to wander around naked liek they are still 2 or 3 years old!
instead of being insulted by all of these individuals, i decided to be mAtUrE & see their attempts for what they were: a compliment! at least i've learned the mOsT iMpoRtaNt lesson in this life in my short 40 years (while others sTiLL haven't learned it in 80!) thank goodness that with all my mAtUre responsibilities that i can sTiLL rEmeMbeR hOw (& dO) behave inmaturily as often as i can! . . . we'll see who is sTiLL around in aNoThEr 40 years & who has died of a mAtUre (sTrEsS) related heartattack;) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LiVe LoNg & pRospEr

Le pHotOgrAphiE deLLa miA tEsSa & figLi;)

today was a gOoD dAy! i finally got my sAmRtpHoNe (i mean sMaRtpHoNe) linked with my sTupiDLapTop (i mean nOn-sMaRtLapTop) and was able to transfer the bizillion photos . . . today will be happy pHoTo bLog day:)

tessa's seminary graduation & the whole fam damily . . . minus granderson dana's husband, our camera shy photographer: granderson ralph

as if high school graduation wasn't enough for our over-achiever (i don't know wHeRe that trait came from!), tess had to complicate things by rEaLLy attending seminary (instead of skipping) and aCtuaLLy graduating! she never had to attend what i affectionately call "real seminary" (aka: eArLy mOrniNg sEmiNaRy) but she resisted the urge to skip her release time seminary class . . . most of the times. her teacher insisted all the stupids (i meant students) call him 'dirt bag', which they willing did . . . i think she acutally learned a few scriptural references as well . . . .

tessa's high school graduation held at south town expo center & lasted 3+ hours!

isn't she sSsSsSsSsSoOoOoOoOoOoOoO cCcCcCcuUuUuUuTtTtTtTeEeEe!

after 18+ years of her reminding me she nEeDeD to attend school everyday (she played "school" since the day she came out of the womb), she graduated from high school and decided to continue her schooling by attending a higher learning institution . . . . little did mom know that Tessa would choose to further her educational pursuits at mama's LeAsT favorite unversity: the eViL BYU "Live Life in a Bubble" blue cougars:( . . . . while she cheers for the arrogant BYU (don't exist in our reality) she retains her tRuE color: rEd (like oxygen rich living blood). . . . she must keep her tRuE identity a secret or lose her higher learning privileges . . . .

i guess we should have done this first . . . but i'm backwards so dEaL with it!

& then there was the pRoM . . . . . .

tess was sMaRt . . (yes, she is tOo sMaRt for her own gOoD as well as everyone else's) . . . she dated ryan (not the boy in this photo) most of her junior year and his (ryan's) senior year . . . after the on & off (more off than on:) boyfriend/girlfriend thing throughout the summer, tess decided to test out the "vanilla theory" in dating. ryan was at a local jr. college & enjoying dating "college girls" & tess didn't sit home for aNyThiNg!!! i don't think she realizes how beautiful, fun & intelligent she rEaLLy is! she was asked eArLy to prom by this boy (there were sO mAny i honestly can't remember his name!) & had a fun filled sTrEsSfReE evening ( i think the photo says it aLL . . . . . . . . . . & then there was adam, or as he says "A - DAM HUNT" (& his middle name IS "gOoD";)

adam, 16 in january & wanting to date by may, asked this sweet girl (again, i can't remember her name . . . he gets texts, calls & drive-bys at all hours of the day & night by mAny, MaNy, mAny . . . . as levi says "stupid girlfriends" . . . girls!) adam: no job, no money, no license, no car, no tux, no plans, no problem! he asks this girl to the prom the dAy Of tHe pRoM (liek, he asked her after lunch), borrows the $50 bucks for tickets from a friend (don't know if he has paid this friend back . . . yet!) begs for $50 bucks from mama by batting his blue eyes at her . . . & talks this girl into having her pArEnTs drive them to the resturant & the dance as well as bring them home. . . . (he should write a book on dating ettiqute;) yes, that is west in the background, shaking his head in disbelief . . . . he never had such luck in dating:( adam IS a gOoD bOy & he IS quite a cHaRmeR!

young womens' "mOdEsT" fashion show . . . . .

the young women decided to have a fashion show to pRoVe that being modest was eAsy, fAshiOnabLe & aFfoRdabLe . . . 1/2 the girls wore what they usually wore on sunday while the other 1/2 were chosen to wear a dress that was "bOrRoWed" from a local shop for the "show" . . . (i think the leaders misunderstood the meaning of "aFfoRdabLe") . . . tessa's dress was "bOrRoWed" while katie's is her uSuaL sunday attire. i rEaLLy liek this photo because it has 2 of my 3 girls & because you can see katie's pretty eyes . . . this is pRe heavy eyeliner days;) she still favors black! mama mia!

katie's customized body tattooing


ok, so k8e, or kt, or kAtiE, however she decides to spell her name (all mood & day dependent) LiEks to draw on herself! one day she came home with red pen from her fingertips to her shoulder. it looked liek her hand & arm had been mummified: vEry iMprEsSivE! one day the tips of her hair were red (i called the mother of the girls, the girls were twins, who gave kate red 'highlights' & requested they not be so generous with their creative talents anymore;) this day she was rainbow stripes. she usually cathces aLoT of flak from tess & adam . . . i silence her older siblings & remind kate that if i cAn'T have a tattoo, neither can she! (& that the prophet says we shouldn't draw on our bodies) these days she is down to black hearts & stars mostly on her feet & hands. katie IS a gOoD girl & very eXprEssiVe:)

katie's & abbie's unique fashion expressions

a photo is worth a 1,000 words & i think this one says it all. katie favors the 80's & i have nO iDeA where abs picked up her hair accessory! i'm glad they didn't try combinding their two favorite activities (liek they have in the past): reading a book & bicycle riding. they are gObS & GoBs of fun:)