Busy Busy Busy (Summer Edition)

Just a quick update on Mom & Dad's schedule and special events happening this summer so you can all make your plans accordingly....

MAY

4--6 Mom in Temecula w/ Barratt's family

6--23 Ricky's Family in Idaho w/ Mom & Nat

10-- Ricky & Eden's anniversary (Mom & Nat tending)

17-- Barratt's birthday

31-- Marci's birthday

JUNE

1-- Jennifer's birthday

9--11 Mom in Temecula w/ Barratt's family

11-- Ashlee's birthday

18-- Dad returns from South Africa

19-- Dad/Mom pick Sierra up in SLC, drive to Rexburg for EFY

24-- Dad/Mom get Sierra from EFY & take back to SLC

29-- Esme's birthday

30-- Nancee's birthday

JULY

1--10 Mom, Dad & Nat go to North Carolina for JJ's baby's blessing, possibly Houston after

3-- Mallory birthday

10-- Mom/Grandma Tutu birthday

11-- Annie's birthday

15--28 Spencer & family come to Idaho for a visit

21-- Spencer's birthday

24-- Dad/Grandpa Tutu birthday

28-- JJ's birthday

AUGUST

1-- Knox's birthday

4-- Lea's birthday

5--8 Dad in Chile, South America

16-- Troy & Nancee anniversary

18-- Roo & Annie anniversary

18--24 Mom & Dad in Phoenix w/ Ricky's family

23-- Sam's birthday

24--29 Mom & Dad in Southern California for LACC/SCUHS 100 year celebration

SEPTEMBER

3-- Dad returns to South Africa (until Nov. 30)

5-- Bear & Marci anniversary

9--10 Mom does overnight girl scout trip with Marissa

10-- Erica's birthday

19-- Brayden's birthday

21-- Troy's birthday

21--28 Mom & Nat go to Louisville, KY for ABC show

26-- Sierra's birthday

Graduation(s)

This past Saturday, Mom and I went to my best friend Barbara's graduation from Idaho State University. Although the ceremony was long, we were happy to be there supporting Barbara. It was cool to watch ISU bestow their first ever honorary doctorate to Jakob Dylan, the lead singer of the Wallflowers. (If you are having early-nineties deja-vu, thats because he was really popular about 2 decades ago. For Idaho, a two decade lag in popular culture is pretty standard.) Dylan gave a questionable speech and then made up for it by wowing the audience with a special acoustic song he wrote just for the occasion. It felt like 1996 all over again!

Congratulations Barb!! :)

While we were looking for a camera to use at graduation, we found one that had been missing for over a year--ironically filled with pictures of not only my graduation last year, but Roo's Masters Degree graduation too! Most of you probably never got to see any of these pictures, so I thought I'd post them now. Let me apologize to Annie in advance for posting pictures of her at 9 months pregnant...

Roo graduated with a Masters Degree in Geophysics (I think) from University of Utah in May 2010, and Annie delivered baby Esme just a few weeks later.

I graduated with a Bachelors in Sociology from Idaho State University, also in May 2010.

We don't anticipate anymore graduations until 2013--when Sierra graduates from high school!

Nat's "Tea Party"--an actual tea party, not the political kind. ;)

Its been snowing in Idaho--yes SNOWING--in late April. We needed something to warm our hearts, so we got totally excited for the Royal Wedding!

I decided to throw an English tea party to celebrate the occasion. We had scones, english toffee, "Queen Anne" chocolates, herbal tea and hot chocolate. We also had little chicken salad sandwiches, shrimp, fresh fruit and poundcake. It was a fun girls night!

(Mom was also excited to see my apartment for the first time since I finished decorating it. This is my living room. The camping chair is not part of the redecoration. Hahah.)

We were inspired by Kate Middleton's hats...

We learned that these hats are called "fascinators"...
We set up a little craft station, using glue guns to make our own fascinators out of pipe cleaners, feathers, rhinestones and ribbon! Mom chose red, white, and blue to represent the British colors.
Suzanne, Barbara, Nat and Mom. Thanks for coming over ladies!

(This is on my couch in my living room...we are all squished in there, hence the awkward pose.)

The Cure for Nightmares

People have been asking how Mom and I are getting along without Dad. We have definitely missed him, especially during our attempts to do his chores-- like taking the trash can down the hill and brushing the burrs out of Minnee's matted fur. Mom says she misses Dad the most when she's at the house by herself at night.

To compensate for Dads absence, Mom has gotten into watching TV at night. Its so cute how excited she is to discover new TV shows. When I come into work in the morning (...noon), she tells me all about the shows she watched the night before. It is very surprising that Mom has taken a liking to intense crime dramas like...

She also enjoys these "lighter" shows...

Mom says she has been sleeping better than she ever has before since starting to watch TV. I thought the dramatic shows might be too stressful for her, but she says it allows her to let go of her real-life stress and decompress before going to bed. Who knew CSI could be a cure for nightmares??

Remember that one guy??

The brothers used to joke about how often Dad travelled by saying "Remember that older guy with gray hair who used to hang around here sometimes? I think we called him...Dad".

The joke wore thin after a few years, but unfortunately Dad's traveling hasn't slowed down a bit! Retirement has provided Dad with lots of opportunities for teaching and lecturing all over the world. He spent a few weeks in Rio at the World Federation of Chiropractic meetings, and then it was on to Durban, South Africa to teach at a Chiropractic College there. He will be there until June.

So, where the heck is Durban, South Africa?
View Larger Map

He will be teaching students about research methods, and doing other cool things like going to Rugby games! He says his apartment is "adequate", which has us a little concerned. He has his own room and shares a kitchen with the others in the hotel. He has cable and the ability to Skype us (remember he's 7 hours ahead, so midday is the best time). He will be sending me some pictures that I will blog about soon. We are excited that he's going on this adventure, even though we do miss him!

#18

Congratulations to Ryan & Heather! Looks like we will be adding another boy to our family--#18. Its interesting how the balance between boys and girls always ends up "even steven". (Seinfeld reference is for Ryan)

JJ & Jen are within a month of their due date too! Any guesses on when she will have the baby?

Due date: May 11

(but from what we hear, things are progressing well...maybe too well.)

Nat guessed May 5

Mom guessed May 1st

Here's to baby blue, blocks, trucks, dinosaurs, airplanes, animals, dirt and mud, scrapes and bruises, legos, sports, and of course, Star Wars!

Family Animals...."Faminals"

When we were growing up, each of us had a special animal that we were associated with. It was fun, and I think it helped Mom and Dad keep us all straight during Christmas. :)

Some of our animal assignments were logical, following from our given names, while others made less sense. Judge for yourself....

Barratt--Bear

Ricky--Raccoon

Ryan--Lion

Spencer--Skunk

Nancee--Rabbit

J.J.--Giraffe

Roo--Kangaroo

Nat--Gorilla

So, to carry on the tradition, we now have official animals for each of the grandkids. Some of the grandkids parents had already assigned them animals, while others let their kids who were old enough choose their own animals, and last but not least, some grandkids have the distinct honor to be assigned their animal by Aunt Natalee. ;)

Barratt's Family....

Sierra--Dolphin

Ashlee--Bunny

Brayden--Bear

Ricky's Family...

Lincoln--Giraffe

Logan--Lion

Ryan's Family...

Marissa--Owl

Mallory--Siamese Cat

Nathan--Airplane

Spencer's Family...

J--Skunk

Sam--Penguin

Knox--Cheetah

Mary--Monkey

Lea--Lamb

Nancee's Family...

Erica--Elephant

Sadie--LadyBug

J.J.'s Family...

Baby J.J. & Jen--Whale

Roo's Family...

Esme--Butterfly

These animals are reflections of the kids personalities, physical characteristics, and/or personal preferences. It is interesting to see what a wide variety of animals are represented in our family!