I'm a Lumberjack....

A few months ago, Andy and I got life insurance from a company, Woodmen of the World. The company got its start by catering to lumberjacks and providing them with life insurance, retirement plans and investments. One of the "benefits" to the organization is that they have a local lodge and they are also quite involved in the community. They frequently give out US flags to various organizations and individuals and they also provide a summer camp for kids.

A couple months ago, Andy came home from one of their monthly meetings and announced that he would be the next Vice President of the local chapter. Of course I had to make the obligatory jokes about how becoming an officer of the local lumberjack lodge now will leave him with no aspirations for his 'Golden Years', how he will need to be more diligent in carrying around his pocket knife at all times and that he is really going to shake up the current group with his ambition and zeal for planning things.

Last night was the official induction ceremony. They had an area official drive down from some small town in North Carolina to conduct the ceremony. It involved inviting all the inductees up to the front of the lodge and while they stood there, the official read a paragraph or two about a silent oath that the members had taken (neither one of us knows exactly what 'silent oath' they're referring to) and something about promoting good citizenship and representing the organization with dignity. Once all that was done, I took a couple pictures (I got a new SLR camera for Christmas and couldn't pass up the opportunity to use it on such a momentous occasion) and then someone made a motion that we conclude the ceremony and eat--all the meetings seem to involve food.

Here' s Andy getting sworn at...I mean...getting sworn in as Vice President.

This is the entire group of officers. There's a President, VP, Treasurer, a few Trustees, a Sergeant of Arms etc. etc.

I'm so proud!!

Baby Shower

On Thursday, two of my friends threw me a Baby Shower. It was a lot of fun (for me, anyway). ;-) In all honesty, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at a baby shower.

We played Pictionary with baby-themed words, we had a chocolate fountain and other desserts and of course there was the customary Ooooh-ing and Awwww-ing as I opened the gifts. I got some really cute stuff and I can't wait till the baby is actually here!

My mom sent a couple receiving blankets that she made...

Andy's mom sent a cute quilt that she made. (Someone should have told me to hold it upright--Oops!!)

The real icing on the cake was the surprise Andy had prepared. He had arranged for some chocolate lollipops (next to the cake) to be delivered and for the chocolate fountain. One of the girls who helped arrange the baby shower (the girl standing on my right in the first picture) decorated the cake too.

The Loot...

When we first moved out here, I was really concerned about starting a family because we are now so far away from OUR families. But I have been soooo impressed with the way our ward has shown their support and love for us and welcomed us in to their families. Several people have offered to babysit or to come over and help out when the baby comes--even if I just need a nap!! Our ward really is amazing. Today, a couple who recently moved into the ward spoke in church and mentioned that they had been in their previous ward for about 3 years. When it came time for them to move here, they had 10 people show up to help them move. When they asked our ward for some help when the moved into their new house out here, they had 14 people show up!! (Of course Andy helped organize that.) They were really touched that so many people would come and help some relative strangers move on a Saturday morning. We really do have a great ward and I'm so grateful for the kindness we've been shown since moving out here.

Sneak Preview

We went to Tennessee for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday weekend with family. My sister in law, Amy, took some pictures of me. Here's a sneak preview...

Another Project

I recently found a "how to" for how to make appliqué neck tie onesies on a blog. I decided to give it a try. I used some Hawaiian material I had and I had to borrow a friend's sewing machine since mine died last week. I think it turned out pretty cute and it wasn't very difficult either.

"I'm a Man!"

Over the past month or so, Andy has engaged in some friendly banter with a couple of his co-workers who have, and always carry with them, pocket knives. Not only do they find occasion to use their pocket knives for random tasks, but they can't seem to understand how anyone can get through a day without having one at the ready.

This week, Andy's co-workers ceremoniously presented him with his very own pocket knife. They played the "Rocky" theme song and presented him with his very own pocket knife and official "Man Card". So I guess it's really official. Andy's a man.

By far, the coolest thing about the pocket knife is that it has a built-in light. Pretty sweet.

Arts and Crafts

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on a few baby-related projects. Last month, one of Andy's co-workers gave us a crib. I had my heart set on a white crib so it would match the rest of the furniture in the baby's room. Andy was kind enough to indulge me. He doesn't understand why all the furniture needs to match, so considering the time we've spent preparing and painting the crib, I'm very grateful. Here's a picture of the crib once we had moved it into the room, but hadn't quite put it together yet.

During the whole process of taking the crib apart and putting it back together, we discovered that it was missing a few screws. Fortunately, we were able to get some replacement parts at our local hardware store. Here's a picture of the crib AFTER we sanded, primed and painted it.

I've also been sewing some burp cloths. I found an easy tutorial on a blog. I got most of the ribbon at Big Lots (4 rolls for $2-$3).

I then found another tutorial on how to make pacifier clips on a different blog. This was perfect because I was able to use up the remaining ribbon from the burp cloths by making pacifier clips. I also have a friend who will be selling candles at an upcoming craft fair this weekend. She offered to try and sell some of the clips for me there. Maybe I'll throw in some burp cloth / pacifier clip combos. If that doesn't work, then I have a bunch of gifts for all the upcoming baby showers I'll be going to in the coming months.

I had a doctor's appointment last week and things seem to be progressing as normal. My swollen feet are within the normal range for how far along I am (about 30 weeks), I got my seasonal flu vaccination and the heartburn and leg cramps are somewhat under control. Considering the symptoms some women have when they are pregnant, I'm grateful that I'm feeling as well as I am.

America Junior

I was in Canada (aka America Junior) over the weekend for my former roommate's wedding. Another one of my former roommates and a friend also went and we had a ton of fun. The wedding was absolutely beautiful--very fitting for a beautiful bride (inside and out)!!

I left on Thursday evening and the wedding was scheduled for Saturday. Andy had asked me what our plans were for Friday and when I responded that we would be helping Carmen with any last-minute preparations etc, he asked if we would be putting doilies in her hair. So that's exactly what we did.

Throughout our trip, we were completely fascinated with the subtle differences between America and Canada. Here are a few of our observations.

• Canada is way too cold. It had snowed before we arrived and there were several flurries throughout the weekend. I was obsessed with the notion that maybe Canadians just don't know that there are warmer locations to live. The typical response to my helpful observation was "This really isn't that cold. You should be here when it's 40 below!! Now THAT's cold." To which I just shook my head and internally mourned the loss of their sanity.
• The cows in Canada are not very happy. They're certainly not happy, California cows. They looked skinny and very hairy--which they have to be in order to withstand the freezing temperatures.
• In order to dress for cold weather, one needs to have either jeans or sweat pants which get stuffed into boots like Uggs. Add to that some kind of sweater or jacket and a warm hat. That's the typical Canadian garb. Wish I had been thus prepared.
• While the weather is very cold, the people are very warm. We were treated with such hospitality and friendliness that we could almost understand how people would rationalize living there. Carmen had everything lined up for us...places to stay, cars to use, most meals...everything!! Thanks Carmen!!!
• Our most significant finding was that the word "Hey" can be used with reckless abandon. Prior to this trip, I was under the impression that "Hey" could only be used at the end of a sentence. Not true. It can be thrown into the middle of a sentence (much the way some people might use the word "um") and it does not necessarily connote a form of agreement. Of course we had to have a competition among ourselves to see who could get away with the most authentic use of hey while speaking to a local. It was very entertaining.
• I also learned an interesting factoid. The Cardston, Alberta temple is the only temple that does not have a gate or fence around it. About 90% of Cardston is LDS and I guess a fence just isn't needed because there is no threat of vandalism. How great is that?!?!
• Canada also has some really great candy bars and some...interesting...potato chip flavors. I think I bought more candy bars over the weekend (based on the locals' recommendations) than I have in the last 5 years. So far, I think Mr. Big is my favorite.

Shifting gears, I must say that I was VERY impressed with the excellent job Carmen and her friends and family did with decorating the Cultural Hall--which is right across the street from the Alberta Temple. Once you entered the cultural hall, you completely forgot that you were in a church gym. Here's what I mean:

I told you they did an amazing job!!

We returned home on Sunday afternoon. I ended up waiting on the tarmac while a part was replaced in my airplane for the St. Paul to Raleigh leg--which meant that after a 2-hour drive home, I didn't get home until 2am!! Fortunately, I made it safe and sound and wasn't really tired during the drive or during the ensuing work day.

Thank you Carmen for a fun weekend (I *almost* missed being single again) and Congratulations on the marriage!! What a great couple! (Check out her super-hot shoes!!!)

Activity Days

A couple weeks ago, I threw together an activity for the 8-11 year olds at church. (We have about 9 girls who show up regularly.) We talked about tithing and the importance of saving money. I learned that most of them had never filled out a tithing slip, so it was good to go over that with them. We also talked about tithing settlement since that is one of the Faith in God requirements. I had found some ceramic farm animal banks on clearance (they ended up costing less than $2 each after I pointed out some flaws on them to the cashier and got an additional 20% discount off the clearance price...bargain of the century!!) I wanted the girls to decorate and personalize their banks and boy was I surprised with the creative results!!! I had prepared small squares of cardboard (which they covered in scrapbook paper) as a platform and then I let their imaginations run wild. Here are some pictures of what the girls made.

This really cracked me up. She made a nest for her chicken bank and even included eggs made out of puff balls.

This is a very sassy chicken. Not only does she have flowers and a feather boa around her, but the chicken has a ruby red necklace made out of puff balls.

Mooo! This cow is living large in her barn yard complete with a fence made out of pipe cleaners.

I thought this one was very simple, but very clever. You'll notice that her pig is a little muddy from rolling around in the pigsty.

If I were to do this again, I would allow for more time to decorate the banks. I could have talked to them for at least an hour about how to calculate tithing, the importance of saving money, the importance of wanting something but not having to buy it just because it's there, what a credit card is and to impress upon them how expensive things are and that they shouldn't expect their parents to buy them whatever they want. We ended up spending at least 45 minutes decorating the banks and the room was a disaster afterward, so help with cleanup would have been very much appreciated.

Raku Party

I haven't been taking ceramics classes since July. My old ceramics class had a raku party last night and they invited me to attend. In case you are unfamiliar with the raku process, I took some video of the fun part. Raku is a Japanese, low-fire (the kiln is brought up to only about 1,900 degrees) glazing technique. I think it's fun because they take the pieces right out of the kiln when they're red hot. Then the pieces are placed in small trash cans with newspapers and other flammable materials while the piece continues to cool down. It's a lot of fun because the process allows for a lot of variation in how the pieces turn out. It's pretty hit or miss. Either way, it's a lot like Christmas when you finally get to see what the pots look like when they come out.

In addition to the raku party, I picked up three more pieces that had been fired for me. I have one left and then I'll be hanging up my apron for a while. Kinda sad. Here are some pictures of my last few pieces.

The Best Baby Name EVER

In our search for a baby name, I'm very tempted to go with Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Here's why...

It comes from a scripture found in 2 Nephi 18:1 - "Moreover, the word of the Lord said unto me: Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen, concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz." The meaning, found in the footnote, is "Destruction is imminent". Enough said.

Hoarders

Andy and I have discovered a TV show on A&E called Hoarders. At work, I have been to several conferences for fiduciaries where they will have presentations about hoarding and how to help someone who struggles with the condition. I've always found them to be so fascinating. The TV show is every bit as fascinating. I find that I squirm and gasp about as much as I would if I were watching a scary movie! Of course the best thing about the show is that after watching an episode, I have plenty of motivation to go through a box of "stuff" that I haven't looked through for a couple years and toss items that I justify keeping around for the sole purpose of reminding me of something or because I think it might be useful someday.

Of course, the downside of the show is that I tend to get itchy and feel like I need to take a shower after watching it. As much as I may not like it sometimes, I'm glad Andy is good at not wanting to keep stuff around the house because the cost of keeping, moving and storing stuff is just not worth it.

Belly Bump

Several people have asked if I have a belly yet. Let it be known that I give the people what they want. Although it really just looks like I've "let myself go" and this picture isn't very flattering, I know it's only going to get...worse.

We're having a BOY!!!!

We had our scan today and the technician was able to tell right away that we are having a boy!! I was about 80% sure that it would be a boy because I have been feeling so well. I've heard that people are generally more nauseous with girls. Of course we are very excited and it was really cool to get a good look at Junior. The technician was really great and spent about 30-40 minutes with us and showed us the heart, the feet, the hands, the spine...everything. The doctor reviewed everything and said it all looked good. Here are a few of the pictures we were given. Two profile shots and one foot.

An Open Letter to ESPN Regarding Michael Vick

I think there are a lot of sportscasters out there who are missing out on an opportunity. Over and over I've heard people say that Michael Vick shouldn't be allowed to have an opportunity to play in the NFL or that he's not remorseful enough for having been involved in dog fighting. Well, here's what I think. I think he made a huge error in judgement to have gotten involved in dog fighting and to have taken things to the extremes that he did. He got caught. He was prosecuted. He served time in jail. He probably suffered more than an average Joe would have had they been punished for the same crime. Vick essentially fell from a very high, very public, very lucrative pinnacle.

So now that he's out of jail and the Eagles have signed him, I really think that this would be an excellent opportunity for America to show how we are able to forgive and allow people to have second chances. Sportscasters are denying us the opportunity to freely forgive by posing these kinds of questions. I could maybe see people get skeptical if an accountant were convicted for embezzling funds from a company and was now seeking a position with the FDIC. I really don't have a problem with Michael Vick having been convicted for dog fighting and now seeking employment with the NFL. To me, they're completely unrelated, so I wish him well. I think baseball players who have been caught doing steroids are more likely to recommit such crimes than Michael Vick.

I also have opinions about PETA. I have very little respect for this organization. There has been a lot of talk and speculation pertaining to potential PETA protests at upcoming Eagles games. I can tell you right now that if there are protests, I will have even LESS respect for PETA. I don't like their outrageous tactics and I think they do more harm than good sometimes.

That being said, I don't agree with the idea of Michael Vick becoming a spokesperson for stopping dog fighting. It just seems...contrived and a little wrong. I'm glad that he wants to stand for reform, but it just makes me uncomfortable to think of him helping animals. It seems like he was told that this is the best way to restore his reputation. To me, it's tantamount to a pedophile getting released from prison and volunteering at a local elementary school. A little too weird.

Reunions

Last month we went to Utah and Idaho for family reunions on both sides of our families. The first family reunion we went to was for Andy's side of the family and we ended up in Montpelier ID. Andy's aunt and uncle and several cousins live there. They were quite influential in building and running the Oregon/California Trail Center there. I was really impressed. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I can honestly say I was blown away.

The center has a tour where you can learn about how the pioneers lived and the challenges they faced. The tour ends up in a room with covered wagons circled around where we ate dinner. It was really well done. The food was great and the whole experience was really interesting. It was a lot of fun to get to know more of Andy's cousins.

One of the highlights of the evening was singing karaoke with everyone. Of course Andy did not disappoint. He not only sang the Macarena (with a large group of "fly girls") but he also danced to Billy Jean. Michael Jackson would have been so proud.

Later that week, we went to a family reunion on my side of the family in Elba, Idaho--near Oakley, Idaho. It's pretty impressive how many small Idaho towns we were able to visit for our reunions. We camped at the Twin Sisters campsite in Rock City. The irony is that there were 4 sets of twins there. One of my cousins brought his rock climbing gear and we were able to go rock climbing. I even went, much to the chagrin, of my dad who didn't want his grandchild dangling from a rope 100 feet up in the air. (This isn't the best angle, but at least it's from far away.)

My cousin had prepared a slide show of pictures of our relatives and places they lived. Not only was it interesting, but I was impressed that he was able to operate a computer, projector etc in the middle of nowhere using his car battery for power. Pretty slick. My great, great grandfather, Evan Davies Jones, died in Elba and as part of the reunion, we placed a headstone on his unmarked grave. We also drove in to Oakley, ID where a few more relatives lived and were buried.

This is my brother and his son who have carried on a family tradition of having the initials of A. G. S. as they are standing next to the headstone of my great grandfather, Adam Gibson Smith.

I wanted to include one other picture of my nieces and nephew. It was a little difficult to get them all to smile at the camera at the same time, but it was a lot easier to get them to make funny faces at the camera!!

T-shirts

So last month we had a family reunion and I had a wonderful time making t-shirts for my side of the family. If nothing else, I had a lot of fun making them and they were great conversation starters at the family reunion. Here's how they turned out...

I kill you. I thought it was particularly entertaining when she was wearing her "I kill you." shirt while walking around the campsite in the dark with a sword and a big ole grin on her face.

This sea food is making me sea sick!

Oh! For Pete's Sake! (picture: Peter Brady)

That really gripes me!

Toothfairy Swindler

I neeeeeed you!

This sea food is making me sea sick!

I'm glad I didn’t grow up in a small town like this one. (picture: “Welcome to Laie, HI Population 4,500)

Don't punch your brother, you'll give him cancer!

When I say "jump," you ask "how high" on the way down!

Jam and Jelly and a PUNCH in the Belly!

I'm gunna bougainvillea your face!

I'm in the beans and I'm heading west.

This is a little trick I learned in the Army.

We're going to the Greatest Show On Earth. Star Wars?!

Dude! What the heck?

I'm a mighty fine girl. And cute, too!

A Kitty!

Are you sure it's broken? Yes, I'm sure!

I didn't get pictures of Crystal's shirt, "I've been a trooper today; I was expecting a nap!" and Ben's (he was AWOL) "Spatially Challenged Engineer".