Internet, How I Love You...

Well.... We gave in. Living without the internet at home is just too hard! That is why I haven't posted anything in forever. Here's how we can justify it: Many years ago when I was going to school in Hawaii I found a wedding ring on the ground. It was right near my bishops house so I brought it to him and thought he could find out who it belonged to. After a couple of months he called me over to his house. He said that they had put up flyers and asked around but no one claimed the ring. He then gave it to me and said it was mine and then teased me for finding a ring before I found a husband. I held onto the ring, it was pretty, a marquis diamond with baguettes on the sides but it was in yellow gold and I'm not a fan of that. Years later I get engaged to Bret and we take the ring to a pawn shop to see how much we could get for it. They offered us $250 but we didn't go for it. So then we took it to a jewlry store and they said they could put it on consignment for us and if they sold it they would give us $725. This was back in 2005. Anyways, every once in a while I would stop in to see if they had sold the ring but they'd always put me off and say they would call me and let me know. Finally Bret got really aggressive with them and wouldn't let them put him off and told them he wanted the ring back. When they couldn't come up with it they finally said "Oh, we must have sold it." But they had to "make sure" so they put Bret off for a couple more days but he was persistent. Finally they cut him a check for the agreed amount. So there, that's how we justify having the internet. The ring paid for it. It will be reinstalled in our home on Feb. 2!!! Yay.

Twerd

Well now that I've outed myself as a "Twerd" (Twilight Nerd) I came across a freaking hilarious spoof and decided to share it with you good people. Enjoy!

Twilight

The first time I heard about Twilight I was going for a walk with Aubry Tuttle up the Canyon Park trail. We were pushing our strollers along and she started talking about Stephanie Meyer, an LDS author and this book that she's been reading. I asked her what it was about and she said "Vampires". I thought to myself "Oh boy, how original". I thought that this book was probably on par with the "Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites" I had heard about. I didn't think about it again until I went up to Nome, Alaska and visited my sister. She had a copy of the book and was about 1/2 way through. She kept picking it up and reading it and I couldn't figure out why this book could be so interesting that she would turn to it instead of me, her beloved sister that was visiting for only a few short weeks. As you all know, I am pretty awesome. I asked her again what it was about and she summarized how this Vampire boy falls in love with a human girl. I was skeptical and brought to her attention that this storyline had already been played out by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I read the first chapter searching for things to tease my sister with and her silly obsession with a teenage love story. I didn't enjoy it at all.The movie was coming out and I received invitations to go and watch it with other friends who were also obsessed. I would hear other friends talking about the books and how much they loved it or I'd read about it on their blogs (Emily Alexander). I decided to give twilight one more try but this time with an open mind. I made the commitment that I would read the book before I saw the movie. My birthday was December 9th and Bret got me the copy of Twilight that I asked for. On the morning of December 10th I began reading and I could not stop. I had finished half the book that day and decided that if I finished the other half the next day (December 11th) then I would go to see it in the theater that night. Everything went according to plan.

I liked the movie, I thought they did a good job of staying close to the book as time would allow. I was so giddy in the movie theater. I had to cover my huge smile in case other people around me noticed and started thinking I was some weirdo. Some characters that I did not think were funny in the book came across funny in the movie like Jasper and Jess. I enjoyed that. I liked Edward. No, I love Edward.I had been telling Bret how much I was enjoying the book and the movie. It was all I could think about. In the early morning when Bret was getting ready for work (around 5am) I was still asleep in bed but woke up to someone whispering in my ear "Lynn, it's me, Edward" and then he kissed my neck. In my daze I said "You're not Edward! You're too warm. Edward is cold."

Of course when I was fully awake a few hours later all I could think about was getting my hands on the next book, New Moon. I went to Walmart and my heart just sank when I could only find Twilight and Breaking Dawn. Were there no 2nd and 3rd books in Cedar City? Would I be doomed to have to order it online and WAIT?! I drove to the next closest book store, Deseret Book. I searched for my beloved Twilight Series and started to doubt that this LDS bookstore would carry a novel about Vampires. Finally I found it! New Moon. It was beautiful. I held the book to my face and smelled the pages. Edward, I've found you. I was so happy. I bought the book and brought it home. I am currently reading it now.
It is hard to remember to eat sometimes because I become so involved. Taking showers and going grocery shopping are becoming annoyances that distract me from my life in Forks. I know that an obsession of this magnitude cannot be healthy. So go ahead Mary Sorensen, make fun of me. But I love Edward and I love Twilight and I will until I've finished reading the entire series and a few months go by until I forget and move on with my life. The End.

So Long, Farewell...

Well some not so great news... Country Homes, the place where I work, is going out of business and I am going to be out of a job at the end of the year. I really enjoyed my job because it was an office job where I could bring Kien with me to work. On top of my hourly wage I would get a commission on the homes I sold. The hours were pretty flexible and my boss has always been accommodating and understanding. It just worked out really well for our situation. I don't think I'll be getting another job because I doubt anyone would let me bring Kien to work with me and I don't want to leave him with a sitter. I just don't think anyone will be as invested in the well-being of my child as I am. The only place I could think of that would let you bring your kids with you is a day care center. But then I wouldn't be able to give Kien all the attention he needs and take him home for naps and stuff. Oh well.

Since we will have less of an income we have had to cut back on our expenses. We cut the internet and reduced our cable. Bret wasn't willing to completely part with the cable with Basketball season just starting. He was bummed that now he will only get to watch a third of the Jazz games but some is better than none. I think that these cut-backs will be good for us and perhaps open our eyes to other opportunities that we could spend our time on.

Here's a happy moment: Kien gave his cousin Hannah a kiss on Thanksgiving. Too cute! Truthfully, I think he was just trying to get her nose in his mouth because he always does that to Daddy.Well if anyone is looking for a cheap manufactured home, all of our lot models have been significantly reduced because the company is trying to dump them before they go out of business. Here is a link to the lot models: http://countryhomesofsu.blogspot.com/

Family Photos

Well we took some family pictures at the SUU campus. Chalise was so kind and willing to take them for us. I needed them by a certain date so that I could make Christmas cards out of them for free. I love free stuff! My mother-in-law gave me a promo code for Shutterfly.com where I got to make a Free Calendar, 1 free 11x14 Print, and 12 free cards. Plus I got 50 free prints and free shipping on everything. Then of course there was that free snapfish book from Oprah. (Thanks for the Hot Tip, Amy!). It is perfect timing with Christmas around the corner. Anyways, here are some of our pictures beside my favorite that is permanently at the top of our blog.
This would have been cute if Kien hadn't been so upset about sitting in the tree.

The Little Things

As Kien grows he gets funnier and funnier. He does these little things that make us laugh so hard. When he hears other people laughing he will start to laugh as if he's in on the joke. Our dog, Willow, is always hiding out under furniture. He recently noticed that she will sometimes go under his crib. This is now his new hang out. Here is a picture of him under there with dad poking his head in.
When you go to the bathroom and close the door, Kien misses you and will stick his little hand under the door until you say hello to him. Then he will find some random object to pass you under the door. One time he passed dad a scented wax thing that you melt and it makes the room smell good. Maybe he was giving Dad a hint. Here you can find Kien passing an ice cream scoop. Who wouldn't need an ice cream scoop while using the bathroom?
Here he is peeking under the bathroom door waiting for someone to come back out to play with him.
This behavior is cute at home but sometimes when we are in public places and I need to go to the bathroom, I'll take him in the stall with me but he will crawl out under the stalls and start exploring the bathroom. One time at SUU's gym while Bret was climbing he got away from me while I was washing my hands and he decided to wash his hands too... in the toilet. So gross.

Halloween

This Halloween was a lot of fun. It was the first time that Kien actually went out and participated and got dressed up. He was Frodo from Lord of the Rings and I was just some Middle Earth woman to fit in the theme. I borrowed the dress from a friend. I made Kien's cape and also his little bag to put his goodies in.
Some people thought he was Robin Hood but then I showed them the ring on his neck and gave them a second guess.
We went to the Trunk-or-Treat at the Institute building and loaded up on candy. Corbin Allred was there performing music. During one of his breaks I approached him and said "I know this is weird but can I get a picture of you holding my baby?" He was very nice and was willing to do it.
You may know him from the movie Saints and Soldiers. I really liked this movie. He's also been on ER, Bones, and CSI. Cool right? It's the first "Celeb" I've ever met.
We also went trick-or-treating at sunset ridge with the Mitchells. That was a lot of fun. Here is all of Kien's loot minus a few that Daddy ate.