The Pixelated Muse

Ten Years

2009-04-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

So Jon and I won a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at the PMI Christmas party. We were so excited! This year being our 10th anniversary we were able to go back to Mexico 10 years later and really enjoy it. And, it was FREE.

That being said, you may wonder why we didn't completely enjoy it the first time. Well just a little story about our Honey Moon. The night we were married we stayed in the beautiful Stine Bed and Breakfast. The next morning we packed up the Explorer and headed on a road trip to California and ultimately Mexico. We stopped in St. George and got so food Sunday and snacks for the next couple of days. We planned on staying in Las Vegas that night. When we arrived, just after midnight, we searched all over and would could not get a room. There was a huge convention going on and there was no vacancies until Barsto CA. So we loaded up on caffeine and headed out, about 2:00 am we were both deliriously tired so we ended up staying in the back of the explorer at a rest stop somewhere after Vegas and before Barsto.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed for somewhere to eat. Luckily we had bought food the night before. So we ended up finding a the little ghost town Calico City on the way and toured it way early in the morning before it opened ( think the worker felt a little sorry for us) and had our breakfast by the car. We made good time and made it to Laguna Hills we checked in and the attendant who asked if we wanted two twin beds. We said no, a King would be great, why? She said "Oh, I thought you were brother and sister! (A bit disturbing)

That evening we went to get the keys from Jon's mission comp (Keding) to our acclaimed destination beach house in Mexico. He wasn't at home so his parents gave the keys to us and we went on our way. The next morning at about 7:00 we got a call. It was the mom Elder Kedding. She said she had called every hotel in Laguna Hills to find us, so we could stop by and see Keding before he went to work. Hmm… we declined.

So we finally got to Mexico, and instead of going straight to the beach house, we wondered through Tijuana. We parked our car on the States side and went it by bus. Well Tijuana is delightful with all it's nudey bars and furious salesmen. When we had had our share we went to get on the bus to get our car. At the boarder the patrolman asked what we were taking with us. I was carrying the bag so I just told him what we had. Unfortunately I am a HORRIBLE liar, I can't do it. So I rattled off the list of items, candy, pottery, blah blah blah and fireworks. The officer was waving us on while I was answering and then stopped when I said fireworks. They took us aside and rifled through all our treasures. And the "fireworks" weren't just fun and sparkly, they were actually 1/4 sticks of dynamite. Hmm…so we spent a good hour with the officer as he lectured us on the illegal items, and the United States border, then he took everything but the pottery and candy.

So from there, we drove back into Mexico to our beach house, only when we arrived it was actually a double wide trailer on a rocky beach, not just gravel, but rocks the size of your foot as far as the eye could see. Needless to say we spent our beach time trying to get out of the rain and not sprain anything. While we were there we had dinner at the "nicest place in town" and ended up have the chef/owner, Captain Roy spend our meal with us telling us stories about his work in the merchant marines. Not very romantic, but very entertaining.

So when our money finally ran out we headed back to the states, we stopped in Vegas and actually got a room. We toured the Strip and enjoyed the fine delicacies of the M&M, and Coke factory.

The next evening we left for home. When we were right in between Vegas and Mesquite, near the little Moapa Indian reservation and Casino, when the Explorer died. Literally everything went out the lights, brakes, stirring, it all came to a sluggish halt. We both slightly freaked out, then said a prayer and the engine started up again. It got us just over the hill so we could coast to the casino. Once there, it was determined that the alternator went out. So the "nice" night clerk hooked a charger up to the battery so we could get it fixed in the morning. So we figured the casino was empty so we went into a corner and laid down around 2:00 am. The "nice" clerk informed us it was bad for business. Hmm… so we spent the rest of the night trying to sleep in the Explorer. It was freezing so we took out all our clothes and tried to make them into a blanket. We went inside a couple of times to put ours hands and feet in the sink to warm them up. All in all, probably one of the more memorable nights in our marriage.

The next day we got the car fixed and headed home for real without any trouble. And so began our life long adventure of marriage.

Below are some of the pictures of our trip to Cabo. The place was gorgeous, and huge. We spent some of time at Lands End exploring, snorkeling, and getting sunburned. So we also spent some of time in the shade just relaxing. We also went and toured the local glass blowing factory. Cabo San Lucas has our approval, we would go back in a heart beat.

View of lands End from our room.

View of Lovers Beach (Sea of Cortez Side)

Divorce Beach (Pacific Side). No swimming

We only found Puffer fish washed up on the beach.

Good Kids

2009-03-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

Kids are so funny. On Sunday I was on the computer and Gwyn was outside playing on the porch. She came in and said "Mom, you need to see my people…but don't get mad." My first thought was that she was super muddy, so I go out on the porch and there were her "people". They were so cute but they were also in marker on the cement. I bit my tongue and went and got Jon, (I wasn't sure if I should laugh or kick her butt) so Jon came back and we all had a good look/laugh at them. In the end we let Gwyn finish her picture which was of the family. You can see them above as Jon, Marley, Me, Daphne and last but not least Gwyn. We will just let Mother Nature run her course and see how the porch looks then. Honestly they are so "Gwyn" I hope they stay forever.

Later this week I was talking to Marley about Summer Break. I told her school would be ending soon and she would have 3 whole months before she went back. She then started to ask me something but stopped, when I looked at her she had big tears welling up and then she started to cry. I asked what was wrong and she said "I don't want to be out of school that long, I like it to much." I giggled proudly at my sweet studious little girl and thought, "Hmmm how long before that changes, I hope not for a long time." Later that night I told the story to Jon with Marley there and like clock work the tears started spilling when I mentioned Summer Break. She is every parent and educators dream.

Miss "Deedle" is 1

2009-02-11T21:27:00.001-08:00

So my little Deedle turned 1 yesterday. Anyone who has thrown a party for a one year old knows that by the time the presents are revealed the kid could care less, and really just wants to chew on something entirely unrelated to the actual party. So by child #3 we have learned. We had a nice dinner at Chili's with Kris and Randy, where Daphne was totally into destorying what ever was in front of her. Then we went home, and the girls opened her presents for her and showed her how fun the toys were. And then of course the best part, the cake. It took some convincing but once she tasted the frosting the idea caught on. All in all we had a great time.

Jaws… (Insert scary music here)

2009-02-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

Okay so, I'm not really talking about the killer shark with the not so scary button eyes, but lately it seems that music is always in the back of my head, or at the back of my mouth. For those not aware of what I'm taking about, it's the saga of my jaw that seems to dictate a lot of my life. Long story–short I have a gimpy jaw and a very jacked up bite. So just to update everyone, things are at at good point and I will be getting braces in the not to distant future. Yeah!!

Captain Underpants

2009-01-28T08:57:00.001-08:00

So when are you too old to wear your underpants on the outside of your clothes in public? By many standards, you really don't have to worry until you are at least in your 40's and by then I assume you don't care what people think of you so, you can still go on sporting them into your 60's. And then from there out you can really wear what ever you want, be it underwear outside your pants or a pot on your head, since your getting mature in years and can always blame it on Alzheimers. So go ahead, be free, wear your underpants in public, just make sure it's not JUST your underpants.

I know this is a little late, but it still needs to be posted. This is new years eve, we were actually celebrating at 10pm to spare the kids and ourselves the grief of staying up till midnight. We had a count down end then proceeded to stomp, through and demolish 50 boxes of snaps. It was AWESOME! We actually did a bit of river dancing on a whole bunch of the snaps and had a great time. I'm aiming for 100-200 boxes next year. Seriously.

To Embrace the Truth, Yeah Right!

2009-01-21T15:32:00.001-08:00

So, each day before I go to bed I tell myself "Self, tomorrow I will do…(Insert Goal Here)." Then, at the close of day I look back and think, "Hmmm where did the day go and why didn't I (Insert Goal Here)?"

Well the truth be known, I keep waiting for the perfect time, a few minutes when; the kids won't need me, the phone won't ring, I won't have work to do, I'll be in the mood, ,… blah blah blah. the list goes on and on and on. Then 6 months go by and I'm in the exact same position I was in 6 months before, then the guilt monster rears its nasty head and takes a bite. I've learned this lesson a hundred times before but for some reason it never sinks in. THERE WILL NEVER BE A PERFECT TIME, for anything. So while I'm applying this self lecture to my lack of blogging, in reality it applies to every aspect of my life, I being one of the worlds biggest procrastinator. The Truth is there is NO perfect time, so just suck-it-up and do it now or the guilt monster will take another bite at you in six months.

Hmmm…I sure wish I knew the secret ingredient for remembering and applying the lessons I've learned. I think if I did I would probably have a constellation named after me, or perhaps some frightening bug from the Amazon. Now that would be an accomplishment.

A Cute Way to Protect Kids Heads

2008-11-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

OK, so we have been a little crazy as of late…like the rest of the world. Here's our latest endeavor, HelmetZoo.com. We are trying to protect kids heads one fuzzy cover at a time. Beside the website, the kids have loved this. They have all had their 15 minutes of fame on KBYU. We've had a spot running for the last month and it will go into January. It has been super fun watching the kids when the commercial comes on. Oh, and by the way, the pictures are again the work of my good friend Mish, she's great!! I would never have the energy to get the kids to smile that long yet, she poured it on and the kids loved it.

"Farmer Jack" A.K.A. Grandpa

2008-11-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

So, very random, I met a Christopherson in our ward that knows "Farmer Jack" So I looked at her cousins blog (A. Chamberlain) that had some pictures of him from picking pumkins this year. They are awesome so I'm trying to contact her to buy a copy. Enjoy.

Notice the "Party Animal" Sticker on the truck.

Beware there are Freaks about!

2008-11-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

So, many of you know Jon has looked like Chuck Norris' better looking, younger brother, for the past couple of months. And you may know Jon's aversion to beards. Well… we've had a secret plan in the works for some time and Halloween was the big reveal. Here are some before pictures, and some showing the process of his makeover to his alter ego, "Hank". We started at 11:30 pm and ended about 1:30 am. Enjoy!

HALLOWEEN MORNING: Meet Hank.

Yes, that is his real hair. We bleached and straightened it. I laughed my head off getting it ready, it was really fun and a lot of work. I have a lot more respect for the rockers/punks, they are as high-maintenance as any girl out there.

The first thing Gwyn said when she saw Jon was "Wow dad, weird hair." Both the girls thought it was pretty cool. The piercings aren't real (Though he would have done it if I didn't forbid him and if it wasn't a waste of money).

The Girls picked out their outfits and did their own make-up (Marley - Witch, Gwyn - Fairy, Daphne - Minnie Mouse). Marley woke us up at 7:00 am, jumping on our bed and chanting "It's Halloween! It's Halloween!" Her excitement was only second to Christmas morning.

HALLOWEEN DAY
We stopped by to see Great Grandma Hansen and she was so cute. We knocked on the door and she just started laughing and used some of her famous colorful words over Jon's new look. And she poked at it a couple of times. Then, just before I took this picture, she ran into her room and grabbed this wig, and then tried on the girls hats. She is so sweet and spunky!

HALLOWEEN NIGHT
We didn't go around to all the grandparents this year, because they actually have real, old fashioned, trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Our good friends the Scoubes', came to join in the festivities. The weather was perfect and most of us were in T-shirts. It was so fun going with the kids. Daphne was out cold the whole time, while the other kids literally ran from house to house, and made off like bandits. It was so fun to see the magic of childhood, and remember what it was like. I secretly wish every day was Halloween!

(Yes, Jared is wearing green underwear he spray-painted himself.)

Cornbelly's

2008-10-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

We went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving point during Fall Break. We had a blast. The corn maze was super fun, the girls made most of the decisions and we made it through in record time (According our record books).

This was the Corn Box. It was actually really fun, and cool after running through the hot maze. It was like playing on the beach if it was made of corn. Gwyn, wasn't a fan of the idea so she sat this one out.

The Pumpkin Princes was definitely a highlight for the girls.

I think the slide was one of the best parts, it was super fun and we all took turns going together. Over all Cornbelly's was well worth the money. We had a fabulous time.

Dickinson's Departure

2008-10-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Our great friends the Dickinson's recently moved to Florida. We're going to miss them a ton! A few nights before they left the we got together to play. The boys bonded with racing video games, and we bonded with a chick flick.

We watched Mama Mia and had a great time. Mish and Cobi, danced in the isle and sang along to the songs, while I celebrated on the inside. Ha! All and all it was a fabulous night we won't forget.

The saturday before they left we all got together for breakfast at Paradise Bakery. The kids laughed a played. While we enjoyed great food and great friends. We love the Dickinson's and unfortunatly will have to visit them soon in their new sunny home, Florida.

The kids acutally took the pictures of the parents, this was Marley's work.

The birth of a brand new blog.

2008-10-10T14:19:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I held out as long as I could. We are now officially a blog. To all our friends and family I hope that this will narrow the communication gap, and compensate for our fear of long phone conversations, and email correspondence (Ha!). Here are our latest family pictures, taken by the one and only "Mish". I hope you enjoy, and I'll be sure to update as often as possible.

For those we haven't spoken to in a long time, the updated ages on the girls are: Marley (5), Gwyn (3) and Daphne (8 months).