Kids say the darndest things!

Ned and I teach a 5 year old primary class and sometimes they have the funniest comments. Today Ned was explaining some of the ordinances that require the priesthood, and he brought up baptism. Little Chase quickly stopped him to help explain a little more about what baptism is. He said," My Kelsey will be baptised when she turns eight. Then Daddy will punch her under the water and she'll have to drink it all gone." Apparently Ned has been teaching them naughty things when I take the girls to the bathroom.

Fear

The other day I was grocery shopping, and after waiting in line and finally reaching the register, I realized I didn't have my debit card with me. All the blood drained from my face-- I was completely horrified. (One of my irrational but still very intense fears) I asked if they could hold my groceries for a few minutes for me to run home and grab it, so he directed me to customer service. When I got there, of course, I found it at the bottom of my bag (which is pretty revealing about my bag I guess). Anyway, I had to wait in a long line all over again and face the same checker (sp?) all over again, and then he proceeded to give me unsolicited diet advice. Real nice. So not because anyone's asking for it but just because it's been on my mind lately, here is a list of some of my less common fears:

1. Not having enough money at the cash register. I think it stems from buying things as kid with cash. I would have try to guess what the tax was and try to add it all up in my head to make sure I had enough to cover it.

2. Looking straight up at something very tall. I don't have a fear of heights-- falling maybe, but not being up really high somewhere. Looking straight up at a street light or the site of a building terrifies me. I don't know why, but I get all dizzy and this sinking feeling.

3. Walking through metal/security checkers. You know what I'm talking about-- those things when leave a store or at the air port. I HATE them I'm always afraid someone planted something on me just to set me up. Totally irrational, I know. The airport is the worst; I have to psych myself up to do it every time.

4. Breathing on people. My sister in law, Kaylene, says she can't stand to smell other people, and I guess this is kind of the opposite. (Not that I really want to smell other people either.) She says she breaths out when people walk be her really fast so she doesn't breath any of their air. Well, I hold my breath or even breath in a little bit when people are really close to me so they don't get any of mine. I don't know why..

Weekend Get-away (It's kind of a novel- you don't have to read)

Ned and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary last weekend. Originally we planned to go camping in St. George or Moab, but we couldn't find any reservations, so we just decided to do something closer to home. Friday night we went into the canyon and cooked our dinner over a campfire. We didn't have an ax, so we (Ned) thought it would be fine to just use a spackling scrapper thing and a rubber mallet to split the fire wood. It was interesting... Saturday we had breakfast with Rolyne, then went to go see the (not so) world famous Salt Lake Bees. We bought our tickets off a scalper, and the Bees ended it in an exciting 10th inning victory! The people watching was fantastic, even if the players' baseball skills weren't. After the game, we went to trolly square, but it was kind of wierd to us, and I kept picturing a gunman coming around the corner, so we scrapped it and went to the Gateway for a great dinner and shopping. (We bought an ax.) We also saw Baby Mama, which I totally recomend-- it was hillarious!!

The next day we went to the park and played a little baseball. When we got tired of that, we went up to Salt Lake to Liberty park and tossed the football around a little bit. Liberty park is also appearently a gathering place for hippies and gypsies. The place was full of boothes selling tie-dyed items with marajana leaves on them, Middle Eastern massage sessions, and pole dancing lessons. There was even a "space ship" that made funny noises and preached the horrors of non-renewable resources. We listened to a little of the live music, but decided to leave when I smelled pot for the first time. That night we stayed at the Anniversary Inn in the Jungle Safari room. It was so fun! The shower came out of an elephant trunk, and there was a huge crocodile that greeted you at the door. Ned climbed all the trees. Monday we did some more shopping and had lunch at the Myan. It was so hard to go back to work after all that!

Happy Anniversary to us!

For our anniversary this year, I gave Ned the best present possible-- I arragnged for the Spurs to finish off the Suns in the 1st round of the playoffs! (Sorry, Uncle Jim) It was pretty tricky, and I had to call in a few favors, but we got it done. Next stop: New Orleans!!!

The drug test from you know where

Today at work I sprained my ankle really badly. We all heard a big pop, so they took me in for x-rays to make sure nothing was broken. It turns out there was no break *thank goodness*, and I just got a brace and crutches. Since it was a worker's comp claim I had to take a drug test. Drug tests are no fun for girls anyway, but this was the worst one I have ever tried to do. The bathroom was significantly smaller than my closet, in fact, it was about as wide as our broom closet. So I got stuffed in there along with a set of crutches and tried to manuver everything so I wouldn't make a mess. All the while there was a man gaurding the door listening for me so I was having to perform under pressure. The upside was I got a 3 hour break from work!

The birds and the bees during Sharing Time!

Yesterday while I was out visiting teaching (my favorite thing), Ned got a call that we were in charge of sharing time in just a few short hours. We kind of freaked out. In order to involve the kids, we decided to have them say a few of the comandments our current prophets have given us. Little Chase is only 5 years old, and he doesn't speak very clearly yet, so when I whispered in his ear, "The prophet asks us," he repeated what sounded like, "The prophet has sex." Repeat it out loud a few times-- you'll understand how the mistake could be made. For some reason I figured if I said it slower, he would say it more clearly. This was not the case. After he said it about 5 times, and I couldn't stop my embarassed laughter, Ned finally took the mike away from me and had the kid say anouther line like any sane adult would have done the first time while I collapsed behind the podium. Not my proudest moment!

Ned and I went hiking on Saturday in Pleasent Grove for the first time this year, and we had a blast! The weather was perfect-- a crisp morning, but warm in the sun. We liked it so much we've decided to try to do it more regularly. If you have any suggestions for where to go around here, let us know!

A new addition to our family!

We went into our backyard a couple days ago and foud this little cutie in the back dogrun area! We're not sure how she got there (probably our land lord, who has a ranch), or how long she (he?) will be here, but it was an interesting surprise. I sure hope he's not expecting us to feed her or anything! We came with a name for it, but I can't remember it now. Any suggestions?

Escargots

My mom and Emily came up for conference weekend and we had a great time! We got to go to the Solemn Assembly and the Sunday morning session. Unfortunately Ned and I were pretty busy with work and school, but we managed to get in plenty of eating. Here's ned trying escargots for the first time. What a trooper! We also made tons of Chinese food and my mom introduced us to a new favorite-- pablano soup. (The recipe's on the side bar.) It was a fun break from the usual for us.

All About Ned

My Aunt Mechelle thought I would be most likely to respond to her tag, but we thought it would be more funny for Ned to do it:

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My Grandfather's name was Edward Frost Chamberlain but he always went by Ned. So I was named after him

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? We had a horrible jalepeno oil incident. It would not be gentlemanly of me to elaborate.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I love my handwriting but nobody else does. It's a manly, all capital style.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I like to have as many animals in there as possible.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Not that i know of.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? That's a weird question.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? refer to question #8, #34, #39.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Last time i checked

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? It would have to take some fierce peer pressure. I used to jump off a bridge into the water at stinky falls, but i was a lot more courageous (stupid) back then.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? They're always after me lucky charms.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? depends on the shoe.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Do strong smells count?

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? a banana split

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? teeth

15. RED OR PINK? Pink is only for cotton candy

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My habit to be redundant where i repeat things many times but just in different ways. I wish that i would stop being redundant and stop repeating myself again after i had just barely said it previously....again.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My dad

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO RESPOND TO THIS? Doug, Scott, Ross, Jeff, Rob

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue Jeans, Brown Shoes

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Ham sandwich on ciabatta bread with doritos inside the sandwich.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I think Rachel is talking to me, I don't really know, I'm not paying much attention.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? White, because then nobody would use me and rub off my head. (who uses white?)

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Whatever Rachel cooks.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? A lady about switching to a larger sized wheel chair. (I'm on call this weekend)

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU? Yes

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Basketball. GO SPURS

27. HAIR COLOR? brown

28. EYE COLOR? Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no, I have perfect 20/20

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Rachel and I go to a place called Bombay house. It's Indian food that Doug introduced to us.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Anything but chick flicks where they just talk for hours about their relationships.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? I am Legend

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Brown

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? I wish winter did not exist. I think it is too dang cold all the time. I am actually a supporter of promoting global warming. I like to drive my car around the block a couple of times before i reach my destination just to do my part to warm up the earth.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? handshakes

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? cheesecake

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Keri, Lori, Kaylene

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Bill Brewer

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The only book i have opened in quite a long time is my Calculus book. It's such an exciting book. I cant wait to see what happens next.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? My mouse. What kind of question is that?

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? We didn't get in until late last night, but the night before we watched the office and saw the results for american idol.

42. FAVORITE MUSIC? I haven't really gotten into music in a long while. The last song i listened to though was Jason Mraz "Im yours"

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? It depends on what i consider home to be. Texas still seems like home. In that case, Washington.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Rachel says im pretty good in the sack. I dont know whether she means sack racing or what, could someone please explain this to me.

Missing Remote: cash reward for any info about its whereabouts!

The remote to the TV is missing again and I am afraid to tell Ned. I think I'm safe because he hardly ever reads the blog. I lost it a couple days ago- correction: ONE of us lost it we're not completely sure who, but Ned has his guesses. For some reason I tend to pick things up and just walk around with them. One time we were out at Rob and Lori's and I stuck their remote in my purse on my way out. I found it in there (probably while I was searching for some other long lost item), and we had to go all the way back to Eagle Mountain to return it to them. Anyone else have trouble losing something? Please tell me I'm not alone!

-Also, I just realized I have 3 shoes missing (as I'm heading out the door and looking for something to go on my feet): a pair of brown flip-flops and one pink pump.

Some of you may not be aware of the tragedy that has fallen upon my phone recently. It spent an unfortunate four days burried in a pile of snow in the street by Lori's mailbox. Luckily, Lori rescued it and brought it up to core temperature for me. When I pluged in into the charger, I heard a few gurgles (from some tiny bugs who made a home in it, no doubt), but it worked okay. I know the phone is ancient; don't laugh! The only problem was both of the screens are blue, making it impossible to access my contact list. It gets better- one of the hinges was cracked and quickly fell off, so now I have to be causious or this happens. I know it's hard to see, but the phone is hanging on by just one side, and if I'm not careful, the top will fall off. It's a sad story, sure to have a tragic ending (at least for the phone). The worst part is that when I went into the Verizon store to extend my contract and get a discount on a new phone, they said I wasn't eligable for another two months! So if I don't return any messages, it's not that I don't like you, I just can't access my voice mail, and you can forget about texts! The moral of the story is: if you're a little scatter-brained (like me) or just unlucky, invest in phone insurance!! I never get it and I always regret it.

So I am going to start working 40 hrs a week starting Monday, and I am really excited. I love my job, and the extra hours are going to be really great. The only thing is I am going to be so much busier! It's going to leave a lot less time for things like cleaning my house before my mom comes this weekend.

On a separate and mostly unrelated note, I just found a little Asian market with Ned tonight. I was able to find masaman curry paste, tahini, tamari, and my favorite Chinese sausage. I am so excited not to have to go to SLC for that kind of stuff!! (I say this is a mostly unrelated note because I will probably take my mom there this weekend.)

Would you eat this for breakfast?

Before I begin this, let me preface it by saying I am not a regular radio show call in! I did call in once and happened to win a pair of tickets, and technically I called in once before that, but that is a whole other entry (it falls into my file of most embarrassing moments). Anyway, this morning' on my way to work' I was listening to the radio and the DJ was saying how his partner ate some dinner food-I think it was pork chops- for breakfast and how ridiculous and gross it was. I do this all the time since I really don't like many breakfast foods, so I didn't think it was gross at all! So then he said to call in and tell them what "dinner food" you had for breakfast, and their favorite would win summer concert tickets before you could buy them.

I had about 20 minutes left until I got to work, so I thought I would give it a try. I told them I had leftover masaman curry for breakfast, and I had even made a fresh pot of rice for it- kind of a lie because I had it for breakfast the day before, but close enough, right? Well I was on hold for at least 15 minutes, and finally they came on & screened my call to see what I had to say. A couple minutes later they put me on the air, listened to what I had to say, and asked me to hold again. In the meantime, they put on another lady (who I KNOW was lying). They asked what she had and she said "meatloaf..... and I put it in a burrito.... and I ate it with a big dish of ranch." Then they asked did you eat anything sweet with it? and she said "no..... well.... oh,yeah, I had some chocolate ice cream..... and lots of hot fudge on top.... and..." and they gave the tickets to her just because she said she was pregnant! I mean, come on, if you're going to lie on the radio, at least get your story straight before you get on the air! What a waste of precious daytime minutes on my phone... I guess I kind of got what I deserved since mine was a bit of a fib too.

137 days and counting!!!

So some of you may be wondering about the subtitle in our blog referring to Stinky Falls (surely no one who has ever lived in South Texas). This was Ned's favorite summer spot as a kid. I have only been once, shortly after we were engaged, and I honestly don't remember much about it, but we did have a good time. ( I do, however, remember enough to bring water shoes and a life jacket this time.) Ned and his siblings got together and decided we would all take a trip down there this summer, and we are counting down the days to get out of Utah! We are all staying at the same summerhouse/cabin, and I can't wait!!
This one is a close up of the tube chute itself. Look at all the build-up on the walls. It kind of makes you wonder about sanitation, doesn't it? -hence the water shoes- but Ned assures me it is very safe, at least health-wise. The dangers of the water, on the other hand, are legendary among his family.

This is a picture of a bridge near Stinky's that Ned used to jump off as a kid. It's probably between 30 and 40 feet above the river, and I have been up there before-- there's no way I would ever jump off it!!

Also, there are only 123ish days left until we visit my family. We are either going to Yellowstone, Bermuda, my grandparents, the Caymans, or Hawaii. Obvioiusly we're not exactly sure what we're going to end up doing exactly, but we are equally excited!!! Here are a few pics of some of the possibilities...

Yellowstone:

My grandparents ( You can't really tell from the picture, but it's an AMAZING horse ranch!):

The Cayman Islands:









Bermuda:









Hawaii (from my last trip!):












Update:
I just talked to my mom, and she says Yellowstone is a go!