"You come up this instant... or I'll get the hose!"

First: here are two necklaces Brennan made.

Awesome, huh?

And now, a tirade.

THEY FOUND US! WE DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND US!

It's that time again

It's not that I don't want my children to watch scripture-based cartoons (although I do wonder how putting Jesus and Nephi on the same level as Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny messes with their little heads); it's that I HATE THIS COMPANY.

We've had several unfortunate run-ins with the Living Scriptures people. It all began in Utah, when we lived in Logan and made frequent visits to Kristy in Salt Lake. Their kiosks were in every mall you walked into and they were MERCILESSLY annoying solicitors. Like, don't even walk by them, don't get in their line of vision, or you'll get stuck there for ten minutes before you end up telling them "no" fifteen times.

Then we moved here, and they were making the rounds door-to-door, which was infinitely worse. I know they're just nice kids, usually newly returned missionaries, trying to make a living - it's the company making them do all this stupid stuff. One day I was working in my garage and this kid calling me "Sister _____" walked into my open garage door while my back was turned - I almost had a heart attack. I thought since he knew my name, I must know him, but alas, he had learned my name and address from a probably harried ward member who just wanted him off her porch. I was sufficiently creeped out by this kid that I was inspired to complain to whoever sent him my way.

I emailed the Ward Email Lady (this was before Facebook) asking that she please email the other ward members and ask them not to give our name to any Living Scriptures people in our area. This touched off an email explosion the likes of which I had never seen. "I don't want them here either!" "Quit sending them to my house!" "These people are shysters!" And the stories of people being ripped off, trapped into contracts, bothered on the phone, at the mall, in their garages - just from people in my ward, never mind the rest of the scripture cartoon video-watching world - were most impressive. Not good, Living Scriptures.

Another guy came to my door and tried to guilt me into buying these cartoons. I told him that with our tight budget, the cartoons weren't a priority and he was AGHAST that I would say such a terrible thing. "How can they not be a priority?" he wept into the frame of my front door. "They're very affordable! Even people living in TRAILER PARKS can afford these!!"

Uh, what? Did you just disparage trailer park people to me? I COME FROM TRAILER PARK PEOPLE.

I called the company's 800 number at that point and told them that if they ever darkened my doorway again, they would be hating life, and I think I scared enough members of my ward with my Living Scriptures wrath that only my darkest of enemies would dare send them to my house again.

It's been over ten years, and we've moved several times. But today: another cute young 20-year-old calling me "Sister _____" showed up at my door. Hence the sign, and the nasty email I wrote to their company. I may have to call them again if this kid doesn't take my sign seriously.

This concludes my tirade.

Fortunately, Hubby rescued all involved by whisking me off to dinner at Who-Song and Larry's. It was a lovely evening and we sat outside and watched the boats and a nearby cute fussy baby. I think Hubby was afraid I would start trying to make friends with the baby's family so I could play with him.

Us

We enjoyed a lovely drive home and I went to bed at, like, 8:30. I love being old.

Happy Saturday 2: Willamette National Cemetery

A couple of years ago, we learned that the Saturday before Memorial Day is a good day to visit our national cemetery. Also, the Farmers Market is open on Saturdays and has gorgeous flowers for sale. Hubby and I made a quick bouquet run in the afternoon, and I cut some flowers from our yard. Then we met Ernie at the cemetery (he's been working on a project in P-town).

Carter getting to work

Carter and Bella

Roz and Carter

Harrison watches

Bella, Brennan, Ernie

Hubby

Me! And flowers from the Farmers Market.
And Brennan's legs.

Gran

Poppy and Grandma Keithler (Ernie's camera)

Grandma Keithler's sister Rose and her husband Kenneth Austin

This is our cousin Gwenda Knutson's husband.
Gwenda was the daughter of Edith Eldred (Wilson) (Hull) Layton,
and Edith was Grandma Keithler's first cousin on her Clark side.
Not confusing at all, is it. Neenaw says his nickname was "Swede".

 Some shots Hubby took near Swede's grave... it was a beautiful evening.

After we visited everyone that we had time and flowers for (Aunt Marguerite's husband Uncle Ralph and a cousin of Grandpa Carl's are also buried here), we went home for dinner and games. It was fun to have Ernie come over. 

Ernie is good at this Wii bowling stuff

Roz loved playing with him.

A very happy evening, indeed.

Good Neighbors

We went to the Farmers Market this morning. Everyone had a treat and we brought home some awesome hummus (holy mcyummus).

George and the kids. "Carter! Get off that globe!"

Later in the day, Roz decided it was time for a party and show with the neighbor kids. She and Emma and Dylan put together a tumbling and hula hoop performance and then invited Emma's and Dylan's parents to our backyard to watch. They sweetly indulged our weird party-obsessed kid.

Roz, Jamison, Dylan, Emma

So as we parents were sitting there, we started talking about chickens and chicken coops and how crappily our back fence was built (Jason, Dylan's dad, planted English ivy on his side of the fence to cover the ugliness) and just house-y stuff in general, and it came up that our back steps are crumbling and we have no way to saw wood to the right length to put in new steps. Jason is a contractor and of course has everything. So does Emma's dad, John, who also had leftover deck wood, and before I knew it they'd both left to get tools and wood and pretty soon they were measuring our steps and yelling measurements to each other over the back fence. Nice!

Bri: "I guess I should go get my hammer."

Look, new firewood!

The ladies enjoying Emma's huge PVC hula hoop

Jason "The Man"

New step! Yay!

After all this happened, Dada took a couple of boys shopping for some much-needed new clothes. Carter made a new friend.

C and friend

Mother's Day

Oh just look

Breakfast in bed. Mmmm!

Mother's Day was great. Hubby and kids wouldn't let me do anything all day. Roz gifted me with a lovely card and a bag of gifts (her gifts are always something she had up in her room - so cute).

At church, Bella was the first speaker and of course I blubbered through her entire talk. The menfolk and young menfolk handed out Dove chocolate bars with a note attached. Righteous! We went home and had spaghetti for dinner, which I was not allowed to help with. It was a wonderful day.

Rosalind Friday: How to Properly Abuse a Dead Air Mattress

When Roz was born, we had no idea what a great object of catapult she would turn out to be.

Temple Trip

Brennan is old enough now to go to the temple and do proxy baptisms for the dead. He's going today for the first time with the ward young men. We're all excited about it - probably me more than him. Understandably he's a little nervous.

When he goes today, he'll take twenty-two little blue cards, on which are printed the names of grandfathers, uncles and cousins. The Ackley family in particular will have three generations of men receiving their baptisms. I've come to love this family as I've researched their lives and tried to imagine what earth life must have been like for them. Henry and Martha Ackley died within two years of each other while in their thirties, leaving four young children to be raised by friends and relatives. Their little family had such a short time to be together here on earth, and to think that today, we are helping to facilitate their being a forever family, brings great joy to my heart.

I hope good things for Brennan today. I look forward (for him) to experiencing the beauty of the temple, the wonderful peaceful feelings, the newness of the experience, and an increased testimony of the holiness of our temples and the importance of work for the dead.

The Many Faces of Brennan

Oh, how we loved our new toy, the digital camera we bought for Christmas 2005. And how our boy has changed since these were taken.

Jan 14
Jan 21
Jan 22
Jan 22