Our week

So, the kidlets didn't have school last week. We couldn't go on a vacation because Aaron still had school, so I promised the kids that we would do something fun everyday. So here you go:

Monday: We went to see "Horton hears a who."

Cute movie. There were only a couple of things that I didn't like, but the kids loved all of it, so that is all that matters. I would recommend this movie if you have liked previous Dr. Suess movies or if you have kids that would appreciate it.

Tuesday: We went ice skating.

The kids have been wanting to go for a long time. Especially Teague since hockey is over and he doesn't get to skate at least once a week anymore. Piper secretly wants to be really good at ice skating, but unfortunately she has her moms center of gravity, it's off to the right somewhere, sometimes the left, but never in the center. She did do a good job, it took her awhile to really get use to the ice.

Teague on the other hand was ALL OVER THE RINK and only fell a couple of times. He's a natural. I really love watching him skate.

*These pictures (ice skating) were taken with my phone since I forgot the camera!

Wednesday: We went to the zoo. We went to the zoo this day because all of the weather reports said that it was going to be the warmest day of the week. For those of you that live in Utah, you know that was certainly not the case. The kidlets really didn't want to wear their jackets, so I made sure that they had on long sleeves and long pants. They were actually okay.

The zoo was really nice. Most of the animals were out and active. The kidlets had so much fun and were so well behaved. Every time we go to the zoo, we go on the train, this time we got to sit on the very front right next to the engineer, the kidlets loved this. The train ride is actually kind of dumb, but the kids don't know that. We saw a giraffe that had chewed all of the hair off of it's tail, Piper thought that was the funniest thing ever.

We actually saw him chewing on his tail. We also saw the Brown Bears (they are still cubs) playing,

Teague thought they were fighting, so it scared him a little.

Here are a few more pictures for your enjoyment:

Thursday: We went out to the Clark Planetarium to see "The Human Body." We saw the previews for this on T.V., and Piper freaked out, she loves anything that has to do with the Human Body, so whenever the preview came on she would ask when we were going to go see it, so, we finally went. What an interesting show. Teague's favorite part was the skeleton, and Piper just enjoyed the whole thing. We stayed for a little while afterwards and looked in the gift shop and around the planetarium. It really was fun.

Friday: We cleaned the house. Keep checking back for a post about Friday. I will give you a hint: Little Girls.

Seven random things about myself.......

1. I love the smell of Saran wrap.
2. I read the Obituaries everyday.
3. I suffer from insomnia. (I guess I don't "suffer," I just don't sleep.)
4. I secretly wish I could have more tatoos. (no longer a secret.)
5. I love fried food.
6. I can't stand dirty/sticky/nasty hands.
7. I know random facts about celebrities.

I tag: Delynn, Demaree & Marisa

Cadbury Cream Eggs

I remember the very first time I ever had a Cadbury Cream Egg. I was 10 years old and my friend, Stephanie Place, and I were walking up and down main street in Bountiful on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. It was lunch time, so we stopped at the old Carmax. I don't remember what I had for lunch that day, but I do remember Stephanie telling me that I had to try a Cadbury Cream Egg. OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!
Cadbury Cream Eggs are my all time favorite candy, they have been ever since that beautiful Spring day. It is a good thing that they are only around at Easter time, because for about five weeks in the spring I get fatter and fatter and fatter all because of the blessed Cadbury Cream Egg.

Easter

So, Easter came WAY too early this year. We had such a busy month with Charlotte's Web and Piper's birthday, I was completely unprepared! Every year, my dad's secretary does an egg hunt, but this year she didn't, so my kids didn't even do a hunt. But, I did talk to them about it, so they understood.
So, on Saturday we died eggs. We had one egg left at the end, so we poured all of our dye into a huge bowl and put the last egg in it and let it sit for about an hour.(the one on the top right.)


















The Easter Bunny came on Saturday Night. Every year he brings an outfit and candy for each kidlet.



Then we went to church at 9:00 a.m., needless to say we were late, but only about 15 minutes. And of course the kidlets got new Easter outfits.














We got Piper's dress and Teague's shirt and tie at The Secret Garden. Piper's shoes at Famous Footwear, Teague's shoes at Smith's Market Place and Teague's pants at ShopKo. When we got home from Church, Aaron's sister called and ask us to come search for eggs that they had hidden at Grammies house, so we went there.


Grandma Wilma made Easter dinner, so we ate there, it was very yummy. All in all, it was a very good Easter.

AARON

So, I am a bit late on the tribute to my husband on our 11th anniversary, but aren't I always a little late?

I just wanted to list a few things about him that make me love him. And even after eleven years, I still love him.

First, he wrote me that poem.

This is not the first poem that he wrote for me. On Valentines day 2000 he wrote me this one:

Little One

When we first met, it was love at first sight
A burp nothing more and my heart took flight
Come to my house with me tonight
I have cereal to eat and matches to light

Beautiful locks of golden hair
Bluish green eyes give me piercing stare
Dancing and singing with never a care
I know I must have this beauty rare

A few months now have passed by
Sunday night just she and I
Pop the question? Surely I'd die
Must resist the twinkle in here eye

The sun came out on our wedding day
The sound of angelic birds at play
I'm going to marry golden locks today
My little one, here to stay

Three years gone by, my love increases
One million massages one billion kisses
Through pains and aches and tiny sneezes
My heart, my soul, my mind she pleases

*He is definitely the romantic one in our relationship. I'm not sure if that has to do with the fact that I was raised with all brothers and he was raised with all sisters or not, but I love that about him.
*He loves music. Not just any music, but strange music that most people have never heard of.
*He works harder than most men I know. He works full-time and goes to school full time and still finds the time to spend with the kidlets and help me out.
*He is the best dad EVER! The kidlets always prefer him over me. (and I don't mind)
*Patience.....did I say patience? Yes. He is the most patient man in the world. He has to be, he has to put up with me. I have no patience, I was not blessed with this virtue. He was.
*He never has anything bad to say about anyone! (I know huh...He married me!)
*He really likes totino's pizza rolls.
*He loves to take me to dinner. Unfortunately I hate his faves (Mexican and Sushi). So he always takes me to my faves. (mostly Italian)
*He is always telling me how beautiful I am and how much he loves me.
*He kisses me every morning before he leaves for work. I usually don't remember since he leaves at about 5:30 a.m.
*He doesn't like sweets. This is a good thing since I LOVE them.
*He tolerates me, and that is a huge strength in anyone.
*He is so smart. He is working on a MBA/TM degree!
*He likes Henry Weinhardt root beer.
*He is so thoughtful, always thinking of others before himself.
*He honors his priesthood, and is the patriarch of our home.
*He likes things very clean.
*He respects me. Not only that but he teaches the kidlets to do the same.
*He is so supportive of the many adventures of the kidlets and I.
*He understands my crazy emotions.
*He is my better half, he completes me!

I tried to find a picture of our wedding day on the computer, but apparently I have never scanned a picture before. But I am going to, because you might all get a kick at how young/little we were. So keep checking back for that.

He made reservations for us at Haxton Manor we stayed in the Sussex Suite. It was so much fun. We had decided earlier that we would go around town to some of our favorite restaurants and get an appetizer from each place, take them back to the room and eat! Oooooo, there is nothing better than yummy food. This is what we had:

Pot Stickers from PF Chang's
Pomadorie Mozerella from Caffe Molise
Baked Cream Cheese from The Do Do
& Fried Pickles from The Garden

It was so yummy! We also played about 100 games of BLINK. I'm pretty sure I won most of the games. Oh, that's another thing about Aaron that I love, he is not a sore loser:)

Our 11th Anniversary (Posted by Aaron)

It has been 11 years since Karlyn and I tied the knot! 11 years sounds like so long but, I assure you, it has gone by quickly. Karlyn and I rarely fight and when we do (usually my fault) it rarely lasts longer than a couple of minutes. We still hold hands all the time although it is a little less now that we have tiny hands to hold. I'm not sure what she sees in me but whatever it is I hope it remains because I want to stay with her forever.

At the risk of being too sappy I've written my wife a poem as one of a few anniversary gifts. I thought she'd think it was cool to post here so here it is.

The angels, in heaven, are beautiful. However,
can they compare to my sweetheart? Never!

They're missing a feature, they fall short by far!
My love, upon her face, a beautiful scar.

Each day the morning, my affection, misses
only my love's puffy lip receives my kisses

A beauty to behold in dress and heals.
but it's the dimple on her face that, my heart, steals.

Like a glorious fountain, for her my love flows
from her head's golden locks to her cute hairy toes.

Each one an enhancement. Not one flaw found.
Willingly and permanently, to her, my heart's bound

My sweet SEVEN year old!

As I am sitting here in bed, my little Piper is laying asleep next to me. I look at her, and physically I see the most beautiful mouth, a cute little nose, beautiful long eyelashes, her mom's brow, her dad's chin, gorgeous skin and stunning long golden hair. I look a little closer and I see her sweet, sweet spirit, her love for her family, her innocence, her strong connection to her emotions, her will, her talents, her passion. I see her brain thinking of what is going to happen next...I see my beautiful strong daughter.

I cannot believe it has been seven years since I pushed her out. Seven years since she lay at Primary Children's Medical Center fighting. Seven years since I first breastfed her and sobbed at the beauty of it all. Seven years since our little family began. Seven years since I first realized how much my parents really love me.

Wow! Piper is an amazing child. Here are a few things that I love about her:

That she is so smart.
That she is such a good friend.
That she always puts everybody before herself.
That she is an incredible sister.
That she is such a good singer, actress, dancer and Guitar player.
That she is so obedient.
That she is a good reader.
That she is a good listener.
That she is a good leader.
That she LOVES meat.
That she loves ice.
That she has square feet.
That she has funny thumb nails.
That she has such passion.
That she is a perfectionist.
That right now she looks like a jack-o-lantern.
That she named her moose Jorge (after my friend).
That she wants to be a fashion designer.
That she wants to go to The University of Utah.
That she is so willing to help me in any way.
That she loves to go to the dentist. (she even has a lot of cavities)
That she has a "Tweedlebug voice."
That she still calls us Momma and Daddy.
That she loves her grandparents like crazy.
That she is mine! All mine, that is until she falls in love with some crazy boy and marries him.

Piper knows that she was born at 1:59 a.m. At 2:28, she came into our room and told me that she was 7, then she went back to bed. How cute is that?
On our way to school, she called Aaron and said, "Daddy, since it is my birthday, will you pick me up from school?" So Teague and I made sure that everything was ready for her when she came home. She thought that she was only getting a present from Teague since we had kind of a crazy month, Aaron and I didn't have time to go get her bike, but a miracle happened and we were able to get her bike without having to order it. So when she got home, her new bike was sitting in the living room. Teague picked out two t-shirts for her all by himself, a Hannah Montana one and a High School Musical one.










And he also gave her a big fat hug.


Then we went outside, and Daddy helped Piper on her new bike, it is a little big, but she is doing great.
Since Piper loves steak, she decided that she wanted to go to Ruby River for dinner. My mom came with and it was so yummy. We decided to get a picture of the girls and I am so glad that we did, I love this picture! I love that all three of us have on awesome shoes and I love that my mom is in jeans. I never saw my mom in jeans until this year.....strange. And besides, it's just a good picture. And you may have noticed that I cut my hair, I did that on Monday (I had to wait for the play to be over).

When we got home, Grandpa John and Grammie Annie came over a gave Piper.....drumroll....are you ready?......a Love Sac. On Monday my mom took Piper shopping, just Piper and my mom. Piper said that they had tons of fun. They went to a Puppet store and Piper got a Tiger (her favorite animal) marionette and then they went to the mall and got some clothes.

Piper had a good birthday, we will have a friend party next week.

Homer Zuckerman

My dear sweet husband, Homer Zuckerman aka Ricky gave me one of the worst scares of my entire life on Thursday night. And, I sure hope he doesn't mind me sharing this story......


It was Thursday night, our second performance. We had a matinee for the elementary schools earlier. We were at the end of the show. Mary Beth, Ricky and I "spot" the baby spiders in the final scene, but for some reason, Ricky didn't come on, so I helped both Piper and Robin onto the web. Ricky came on. Right before the narrators started singing the final measures of the song....Ricky started coming toward me, I thought he was going to tell me something, so I stepped toward him.......He didn't tell me anything......he fainted, on his way down, he knocked me a little.

As an actor, we are trained to stay focused on the show, so I did. The narrators continued to sing, "Charlotte, Charlotte's Web." As they were singing, I thought to myself, "he just locked his knees, he is fine, he isn't getting up because he doesn't want to interrupt the show more than he already has!"

The lights go down, I get both Piper and Robin off of the web and tell them to get off stage, I look over at Ricky....HOLY $%&#!! He literally looks dead! I go down to him and try to wake him up, I slap his face, pretty hard. Luckily a fellow cast member came running on that is CPR certified, she feels for breath...none....none! I am yelling at the crew to pull the curtain and I continue to yell at Ricky.I knew that his wife was in the audience and that she is a nurse, I kept telling people to find his wife. A Physician, a nurse and a paramedic come up from the audience and then his wife. Finally, they pull the curtain, and finally he comes to...sort of...I mean he is responsive, but barely.The physician was holding his wrist taking his pulse while his wife and the other nurse stayed near, of course his wife was right next to him. The paramedic stood near and also gave Ricky his coat to use as a pillow. Sethrina (castmember) was right next to him making sure he kept his eyes open and kept asking him questions that he would answer, very slowly, but surely. It took the paramedics FOREVER to get there. Probably about a half hour from the initial fall the ambulance drove off. Ricky was still barely responsive.

I called the hospital at about 11:00 and was able to talk to his wife. She told me that they were still waiting on some tests, but the doctors thought is was exhaustion. I went to bed, however I didn't sleep well that night. When I did fall asleep, I would have some crazy dream about Ricky.

I knew that somebody was going to have to do the Friday Matinee, but I didn't know who. Luckily it was Eb, an absolutely incredible actor. So on Friday morning we ran all the scenes with him in about 20 minutes (as compared to the 6 weeks Ricky and I worked together). The show went very well. We were all under the impression that Ricky would be back for the Friday night performance. NOPE. Ricky had spent the day at the hospital getting tests done and he was still very tired and couldn't do the show.

Call was at 5:30, the show started at 7:00. At about 6:00 I had a strange little breakdown. I started crying, my crying turned into sobbing. For some reason this really effected me. When you work with someone nearly everyday for six weeks, you get a strange connection. I was spending more time with that cast than I was with my husband, we all got very close. I felt bad that Ricky had worked so hard, but then didn't get to do the show. I felt a chemistry with Ricky on stage that I didn't quite feel with Eb - only because I didn't have time to - it was hard for me. I called my sweet husband (Aaron) and he really helped me, he just understands me and my crazy emotions.

Friday nights show was incredible.

I was so hoping that Ricky would be back for our two Saturday shows, no such luck. I rehearsed with Ricky for six weeks and did two shows with him. I rehearsed with Eb for 20 minutes and did four shows with him. Luckily Eb (and the entire cast) is so freakin' talented nobody knew that he had just stepped in last minute to play Homer Zuckerman.

Ricky is doing fine. Apparently he is back to normal. I just hope that that doesn't happen again, and if it does, I don't want to be standing right next to him, that was a little too weird for me. I think I am going to get CPR certified.

I just want to say that I am so grateful for the amazing opportunity that my kidlets and I had to perform in this wonderful show. I have never been in a more talented and professional cast. I hope that we stay in contact with these people forever.

Ricky, thanks for being a great husband and a great friend! I had a great time getting to know you and your musical tastes. You have a beautiful wife and a great little family. Good Luck with everything...and please, please, please.....SLOW DOWN.

Dress Rehearsal

These are just some pictures of our first dress rehearsal. Not only was it our first dress, but it was our first tech and our first time on Kingsbury stage. The kids were so excited to be in the dressing rooms and on the huge stage. There are a few costume items missing, like Piper, and her fellow baby spiders, socks and Teague, and his fellow goslings, dickies.

This is Piper (Joy), Robin (Aranea) and Ethan (Neil).











This is Nate, (A Narrator) and Annie (The Goose, Goose, Goose).











This is Jordan (Ma Arable)...."I just can't figure it out!"














This is Jordan and Thomas (John Arable).











This is Piper, Robin and Stephanie (Charlotte).

Teague and Piper.

This is Piper, Robin, Stephanie and Ethan.

This is Teague, Isabel and Zev (Goslings) being silly.

This is Teague, Isabel and Zev.

Patrick Swayze

Okay, so I’m in love with Patrick Swayze, and I have been since I was about 13 years old. So when I heard the news on Wednesday that he is suffering from pancreatic cancer, and only had a couple of weeks to live, I cried…a little. When I got home that night, I googled him and found this article, so I was a little relieved, but still sad, because I know that pancreatic cancer is probably the deadliest of cancers, that and melanoma.

I’m not exactly sure why it is, but when somebody that I have never met before, but has been in my home (via VHS & DVD) thousands of times, suffers, it effects me. Even though I don’t know him, I feel like I know Johnny Castle VERY well along with Darry Curtis (The Outsiders), Orry Main (North & South) and Sam Wheat (Ghost).

It’s also funny how I automatically reacted when I heard. I first called Aaron, then my mom to see if she had seen anything about it on the news and then my dear college roommate who I believe might love him as much as I do. (but then again, that might not be possible.) Just to be able to talk to people about it.

I think about him and the work that he has done. Some people might call him a “triple threat.” Actor, Singer, Dancer. I for sure know that he is an incredible dancer and not a bad singer (“She’s like the wind”). As far as an actor goes, I don’t think he is the greatest, but for some reason, there is something about him that pulls you in and makes you love him even though it isn’t his strong point.

I am so sad for Patrick and his wife of over 30 years, Lisa. I think it is amazing that he is still working, but at the same time it doesn’t surprise me.

Funny Memory

When you are sick, you brain gets to think about a variety of different things. For me, I was remembering the past, like before Aaron, so a long time ago. My brain took me back to June of 1993.
Now, for those of you that know my mom, you know that she is probably the most thoughtful person in the world. She would be the first person to bake or cook something for you if you needed, even if that means changing plans of her own. I know that when she and I go shopping and she sees something that reminds her of a friend or a neighbor, she will buy it. Or if somebody has mentioned something that they want or need and she sees that particular item, it will be on their doorstep. She is also known for taking people to lunch just cause she has a hunch they needed some time away. If somebody needs a ride somewhere, she'll take you without even thinking about it.
Also, if you know my mom, you know that she doesn't show her emotions, that is any type of emotion. I was in my twenties the first time I saw her cry. And it takes A LOT for her to laugh, especially out loud. This is not a bad thing, it is just my mom.
June 1993, I had just graduated High School and My mom and my friend Stephanie and her mom took a fun trip to Puerto Vallarta Mexico we stayed in a timeshare condo that was located on the 12th (top) floor of the building that was right on the beach. Everyday we would take the bus into town. The buses were always pretty full, but this particular day, it was VERY full, the four of us were up front by the driver, in fact, Steph and I were on the stairs of the bus (how safe is that?) My mom was standing right in front of the gear shift facing the people that were seated. I looked at my mom, and she was laughing SO hard that she was crying, literally. I could not figure out what in the world was so funny to actually have MY MOM laughing to the point of tears. I ask her, but she couldn't answer because it was too hard for her to talk since she was laughing so hard, so naturally I started laughing (but I had absolutely no idea why). It was funny to see my mom trying to control her laughter in a crowded bus that we couldn't even move in. FINALLY enough people got off of the bus that we could sit down and FINALLY my mom could explain why she was laughing so hard...
My mom's BUTT was up against the gear shift! So, whenever the bus driver would shift gears, he would tickle my mom's BUTT! The bus was so incredibly crowded we literally couldn't move, so she just had to laugh and bear it until we could get out of the situation.