Turkey Day

I love Turkey Day. And, I especially love it when cousins are involved. Okay, so technically these weren't my cousins, but they were my childrens' cousins and they all had so much fun together that it reminded me of when we had Thanksgiving in San Diego every year at our house and we waited all day for our cousins to come. We would eat tons of orange rolls, sit at our own cousin table, and then were bribed to do the dishes in exchange for more orange rolls. Now, our kids have their Ross cousins to play with on Turkey Day. And, as Trevor said as soon as they left, "I feel so lonely when their not here." We had a nice dinner and us adults were even kind enough to let the cousins have their own table in the other room. What more could everyone ask for?

They Had a Ball!

Trevor and Boston combined their birthday parties this year and the thing that they decided that they both liked was BOWLING! So, a bowling birthday party it was. We had it at Ten Pin Lanes and once we got there we knew we were slightly out numbered as the boys were running all around not knowing whether to get shoes or look for bowling balls. Jeff Mortenson was kind enough to stay and help man the party with us for an exchange of a chance to bowl. Once we all get our names on the board, our shoes on, bumbers up, and bowling balls in hand, it was so much fun. The boys had a blast. Gage thought this was his birthday party as well. He had been practicing for months by bowling on the Wii. His little size 7 bowling shoes were so cute. Sydney Mortenson stayed as well and the ball weighed more than her I am sure, but she managed to get it down the lane. Some of the kids threw the ball so soft you wondered if it would make it to the pins. But, we would all yell and scream and that seemed to help the ball make it to its destination! Tanner Williams was a bit shy at first to bowl because he just wasn't fond of those shoes you had to put on. At the end we finally convinced him that he should try and he bowled the last 4 frames. I think turning 6 and 9 was great for Boston and Trevor and I am not sure that we will be able to top this next year!

Extreme Makeover

Zane was asked by his friend that does insulation to help out on the Extreme Makeover house here in Louisville. They broke ground last Friday (actually demolished the old house) and will finish the home by this Wednesday. He went to the opening and said it was a funny site. He considered swaying the music with a big smile from a band that was playing so that he could be on TV, but then decided that cheesily smiling and swaying was not the way he would want his 15 minutes spent! He went last night in the middle of the night - starting at around 11 pm and coming home at 2:30 am - insulating. He said this house is over 3000 square feet and they had so many of them that they put all the insulation in in 50 minutes! World record if you ask me. Anyway, these are some photos of the work.

Tagged

So, I've been tagged! Kathryn gave me fair warning today, but I still don't know about these games where you have to come up with stuff about yourself that is interesting. I will try my best though. For this game I need to write 6 interesting facts about my self and then tag 6 others and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. So, if I tag you, you must do the same. Got it? Good!

Tagging - Tanya, Cheryl, Jennilee, Julie (mom), Jessie, and Kim

1. I love egg nog and it is egg nog season - by the way. Once when I was in sixth grade we had to write speeches about things that we love and I wrote and gave a entire speech on the beauty of egg nog. One year for Halloween my mom made me this skeleton costume and my sister, Tanya, wanted to wear it to a Halloween party and I told her that she could if she bought me a quart of egg nog. I hid it in the fridge and drank it all myself. You had to hide things in my house if you wanted anything to last with 7 brothers and sister, ya know! Anyway, loved it then and love it now.

2. I used to sing and dance carrying a cultivator (a gardening tool) accross the BYU football field at least once a week. If I had this gardening tool (basically like a claw on a long pole) I could perform many show tunes and really kick up my heals. I would do round off back handsprings down the sidelines as well. I also used to listen to a Miami Sound Machine tape I found with my friend Monica at work and we would put it on the tape player in the dump truck and park the truck and dance in a field across from the stadium. I am happy to report that the BYU stadium grounds and other sports fields were well taken care of during the years that I worked there!

3. They used to call me Tra-Snake in college. You may wonder why and you will just have to keep on wondering!

4. I still love ska. Once in awhile I will turn on a CD of The Specials, Madness, English Beat, Special Beat, etc. and just skank. Okay, that word doesn't sound too good, but it is a real term for a type of dance that you do to this type of music. In college I used to put on my monkey boots (which I still have) and go to ska concerts. If you don't know what this music is, you are missing out. Talk about a weight loss boogie! Anyhow, I miss my old music ways sometimes. Sometimes I even forget that I have an opinion of what I listen to.

5. Someday I am going back to Italy. That is where Zane and I went on our honeymoon and we wanted to go back there for our 10 year anniversary. Well, ten years came and went (we did go to the Cheesecake Factory though - so close) and we haven't been back. When Zane asked me to marry him it was on the 50 yard line of the BYU football field in the evening and he asked me to go to Italy with him. The only stipulation was that I had to go as his wife. Heck ya - I was all over that. Who wouldn't want to go to Italy? Getting married wasn't so bad either. The city that I really want to go back to is Varenna. It's this quaint little city on Lake Como in the Italian Alps. That's where we were the first night and as Zane was zonked out catching up from major jet lag, I was walking down cobble stone streets and alley ways saying, "Buona Sera" to the little old men on the streets and eating my first gilato. It was magical! The ice cream and the scenery!

6. My favorite stores and catalogs:

Boden
Sundance
The Gap
Banana Republic Outlet
DSW and Off Broadway Shoes
Garnet Hill
Forever 21 (like I am 21!)
Restoration Hardware
Crate and Barrel - when are we going to get one?
IKEA - always take an extra suitcase when traveling to a city with one


Well folks...that's all!

Mallory's Footie Jammies

I love the time of the year when babies wear footie pajamas. They are so warm and toasty when they wake up. When I zip off Mallory's in the morning I tend to leave them like that for awhile until I dress her so that she has room to breathe. You know, feet being cooped up may sound cozy for awhile, but there is time for freedom as well. Mallory is nine months now and she is getting so funny. She has big front baby teeth (that is an Underwood trait) and it may take awhile for her to grow in to them, but I will enjoy the look until she does. I had a friend say to me the other day, "You really are getting girly." She was talking about the hair clips I put in Mallory's hair, the fact that my blog has girly colors (at least for me they are girly), and that I love to dress Mallory in pink. I never thought I would be that way. In fact, I painted her room blue just to make sure that I didn't. But, in the end, the girly bug bites you and there is not much you can do. So, I am going to ride with it!

FAVORITE PHOTOS

TAG

I have been tagged by Miss Mort on the paid jobs that I have had in my life -

1. Baskin Robbins - I worked here during my senior year in high school. We used to sample the ice cream all night long. I picked the peanut butter out of the pb fudge and ate it and ate more than my share of daiquri ice!

2. Swenson's Ice Cream Parlor - I thought that when I came home from the summer after my freshman year at BYU I would stick with what I knew - ice cream. I made so many sundeas that summer and never ate a one because I had gained the freshman 15 or 20 and was trying to lose it. Oh, I wish I could go back in time and eat one of those sundaes I missed out on.

3. BYU Grounds Crew - Yes, this is where I met my husband. When I got a job there my junior year at BYU I had heard a lot about this guy Zane who used to work there, but was on his mission. My boss had even named one of his sons after Zane. My job was to paint the football field and other sports fields. I loved it. We were outside all day and we worked on our tans and talked. Well, my senior year, I decided that I wanted to work there again. When I called to see if there was a spot available, my boss said yes. Zane was in the office with my boss at that time I called. When Todd, my boss, hung up the phone, he turned to Zane and said, "I give it 3 months." He was talking about the length of time it would take for Zane to ask me out. It was 3 months almost to the day and he asked me out on our first date. 6 weeks later we were engaged. He was enough!!

4. The Cruise Company of San Diego - wanted a dip my toes in the travel business and got my fill - almost.

5. Which leads to....Marriott - travel center

6. Which ends with...International Cruises and Tours - setting up cruises to China and other parts of Asia. I quit this job during Zane's last semester at BYU and found out I was pregnant with Trevor a few weeks later. Ahhh...now I can go on to the easy life of just being a mother. That was my thought and believe me...it has changed. Life is not easy, but it sure is exciting with these KIDS - the best job ever! (most of the time)

Nashville

I don't have much to write, but am looking for a reason to add some photos. Two weeks ago we went to Nashville for the weekend and it was quite the break we needed. I didn't even want to go because Zane needed to look at a cabinet company and trim company and what was I going to do in Nashville for four hours with the kids? Well, we met up with the Gilberts and hung out with their family and it was great. The next day we went to a Civil War Battlefield and Zane realized that his great,great grandfather fought in the battle there at Stone's River Battlefield in Kentucky's Orphan Brigade. They were called the Orphan Brigade because when KY finally sided with the Union (they were neutral for so long) some men in the south part of the state went and signed up with the Confederate Amy. They were considered orphans because they didn't side with their mother (the State of KY). We also went the the Parthenon. A replica of the real Greek one and it is cool and to the historic city of Franklin. That night we did the only thing that Boston wanted to do the whole time in Nashville - EAT AT THE RAIN FOREST CAFE! We went there two years ago and Boston was afraid of the gorillas and he wanted to prove that he liked the place now. So, we had a sweet final meal before heading back to KY. All in all, it was a great way to start off Fall Break considering it rained the entire week after we came back. I was glad we at least got one fun thing in during that school vacation. For all you who haven't been to Nashville, you better kick up your heels and scoot on down.

Test Drive

Testing...testing...1...2...3...

Is there anyone out there? I feel like I am writing in to space, but I know that it works for everyone else, so I am willing to see if it will work for me. I have had my blog set up for about a month now, but fear set in and I it took until now to write. I am going to include some of my favorite photos to start with just to get something on this and then I will ease in to this journaling thing.