Go Timbers!

Swimming with the Buds

Roz is on the left, in goggles. She went swimming with her friend Ashton (second from right), Ashton's sister Brielle (right) and another little girl. Fun times.

Seattle

Ew! The gum wall!

If you ask to use the Magic Mouse toy store restroom...

If you ask a Magic Mouse toy store employee if you may use the store restroom, she will smilingly tell you that they don't have one.

(I call BIG FAT LIE on that one, since I know that state (federal?) laws require all places of business to have a restroom on their premises for the employees' use. I know you have a restroom, cute Magic Mouse employee. You could have just said "It's only for the employees," and saved yourself the title of Liar Liar Pants On Fire that you now have.)

Magic Mouse employee will also tell you that the Starbucks across the street has one you can use. So you will leave Magic Mouse toy store, walk across the street, and see that Starbucks has no intention of letting you use their restroom without your becoming a customer, i.e., buying something. 

So you'll get in line. Still having to pee. You'll look in the display case and decide to buy a blueberry scone. You'll purchase the scone, ask for the restroom lock door code, and walk back to the restroom door.

While you are waiting at the restroom door, a man will pop out, looking rather alarmed, and inform you that there is no toilet paper in the restroom, and "about four or five paper towels on the back of the toilet." You will find this annoying, still having to pee. After the man informs the baristas behind the counter that the toilet paper situation is dire, you will stand and watch them for a few moments as three of them continue to serve customers and do absolutely nothing about the toilet paper. 

You will get back in line, bagged scone still in hand, still having to pee. You will follow the other people in the line as they make their purchases. The employees will continue to do nothing about the toilet paper. You will finally get your chance to speak, and you will politely ask the barista for a roll of toilet paper so that you can go in their restroom and, you know, do your thing.

SHE WILL REFUSE.

She will say, "I'm so sorry, I know we need to fix the toilet paper, and I just can't quite get in there right this minute."

You will be aghast. Still having to pee.

You will ask for a refund on your blueberry scone. 

You will get your refund with huffs and rolled eyes (sorry, girls, I'm not the one who can't refill the toilet paper), leave the store, and promise yourself to write a scathing! SCATHING! review of your experience on every online customer review site in the history of Father Al's Internets.

You will meet your family, and then walk five more blocks until you find a wonderful place to have dinner, Italian Family Pizza.

You will be directed to the well-stocked restroom by their very friendly, kindhearted employee. 

You will eat monstrous pieces of pizza. (No, seriously, monstrous. We ignorantly ordered two pizzas and were extremely, pleasantly, but overwhelmingly surprised when we saw them...)

You will walk back to the car, very content, no longer having to pee.

I have found the magic.

Come to Butt-Head

My mommy sent these to me in a birthday package. I have since discovered that Fwee Fwee sells them. Mmmmmm

Maverick: "It had just been a [crappy] week from the beginning."

And how! Just starting back up with early morning Seminary alone was ... gahhh. Horrid. Never has the first week of school of the new year just been so hard. DANG. Maybe it has to do with, you know, everything.

Today's epic drama: the ward deacons, bless their little hearts, planned a combined Young Men/Young Women sledding activity for tomorrow, back at the plan-the-whole-year meeting in the bygone era of December 2014 (as in, two weeks ago) but heck if we were prepared for it. It really snuck up on us.

Now the activity is TOMORROW, the young men are also SNOW CAVING TONIGHT on MOUNT HOOD, and now, because of the snow caving, we have no rides for the young women who are looking forward to sledding with the ward young brethren. No one who isn't already up there wants to drive up there. Or can, or will, or whatever.

I am in full SHUT UP mode and listening to Wichita Lineman on a loop and bawling my eyes out and grouching at everyone within the sound of my voice and/or text messages. And my husband and children are frightened and the kitties are hiding.

So, of course, it's time for this:

And this:

Possibly this:

And I hate to think of it, but maybe even this:

"I'll just have to endure it," indeed.

P.S. Upon seeing the snow situation when they arrived, the young men leaders decided sledding would be better left undone. My wonderful longsuffering YW presidency and I enjoyed a long, relieved laugh. What a happy ending. 😊

Ward Temple Night

I played the organ in the temple for our ward chapel session tonight - first time doing that, ever. Pretty cool, but I didn't realize that the temple peeps keep their own version of the hymnal on the organs (some hymns are considered too rowdy for temple use), so I brought my big old one, and subsequently left it there. Dang it!

I traveled over with good friends Candice and Matt S and joked about all the white bread normies in our ward. What?

Hard to believe

And here it is January 2nd already. Can you believe the way this year is just flying by?

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Glad to report that we saw Mockingjay Part 1 last night, and no one had any nightmares... one of us was absolutely certain she would. (Those Peeta scenes at the end were quite intense and disturbing for Little Miss R.)