(My brother, sister and myself in our Christmas Jammies probably about 1978 or 79)
While I was home for Christmas I scanned a ton of my pictures from my childhood. My mom is a turbo scrapbooker (she has about 23 books for me and has saved everything from dance recital forms to school papers) So for the next while you will be seeing a few blasts from the pasts. Enjoy!
Good ol 1995...gotta love the denim shirts! (pre eyebrow waxing) Pale faced me.
2007...and I thought I didn't look any older, til I see pictures of myself! (post eyebrow waxing) Good to know I am still pale faced and as washed out as every. Why doesn't MB change in these pictures?
Disclaimer: I thought I had it figured out how to flip these pictures....but my computer wouldn't allow it (it does that to me all the time) So on with the post!
MaryBeth and I became instant friends. We met like the first week of college. We were in the same dorm and I wanted to learn sign language. She, being hearing impaired, was my ticket to sign. So we met, and clicked. We were together constantly, well I was dating Neil and then engaged to Neil, so I won't say constantly, but a TON. She helped me more then just with signing. That was just our start. We had a ton of laughs together. The above picture is her and her interpreter at college, Mick.
The is MaryBeth, me and Laurel (the other deaf girl in our dorm). I have been priviledged to do a few different things for MaryBeth. I picked out and bought her wedding dress, while she was in Florida and I was in Reno. I know, crazy. It was a screaming deal and I still can't believe she trusted me enough to get it. (she loved it by the way) She let me make the blessing gown that both her kids wore (she was told the first was a girl until the week before the baby was born. I had already finished and sent the dress, so she made him wear it too!) MaryBeth made my day when she invited me to come to Florida to interpret her sons baptism last December. It was such an honor. We giggled and stayed up late just as we had thirteen years before at college. She then asked me to come back in July to interpret while her family was sealed in the temple. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it. Instead she let me sew the dress her little girl wore when they were sealed. (she has mentioned that I am going to have to make her baptism and wedding dress, because a girl needs all 4 of her "White" dresses made by the same person...haha)
Some of my favorite MaryBeth moments: skating home after going to brolums on the shined up Rexburg streets, going to many devotionals together, our big group date where we ate dinner in the upstairs lounge, MaryBeth getting sick while laying on my living room floor (instead of running to my bathroom to throw up she ran all the way downstairs to her own apartment) Making chalk outlines of people (like crime scenes) and getting in trouble by our dorm mom for defacing property. Flour balls. Stroganoff (which she thinks needs ketchup in it, but then your sauce turns pink) U8IT. Walking across campus signing, a guy runs up and stops in front of us and waves and just stares at us. So I say, "can I help you" and he about faints and says "oh, you can talk"! Signing "Mormon Rap" for ward talent show. Signing "A whole new world" for a class project. Visiting for mother's week. MaryBeth on a horse for the first time. So many memories. Anyways....Happy Birthday Love you girl!
Hope you had a great Christmas. I was able to spend it with these great people. Please note our fantastic Christmas sweaters, my brothers overalls with one buckled and the other not and the size of my brother-in-law's glasses! Even better, notice how skinny I was and how dang long my hair was. I did the double curl bangs at the time, one curl up, one curl down, then brush through and spray with aqua net! I would love to say that we all looked that thin this Christmas, but hey I was 14 and didn't have 4 kids yet! Merry Christmas! (oh and one day I will learn how to flip these darn pictures!)
Do you live in the Vegas area? Here is a big heads up! Modbe clothing is having two major clearance sales, one on Friday and one on Saturday. All items will be marked down to $5-$15 dollars per item. This means a swim top that is normall $48 will now be $15! This is the best sale that modbe does all year! Never heard of Modbe? visit this site www.modbeclothing.com/shelleys Here are the details of the sale:
Modbe Clothing $5 Sale
Live in Boulder
Friday December 19th 1 pm– 5:00 pm
1507 Sunrise Circle, Boulder City
Shirts, Skirts, Sweaters $5
Swim Tops $15
All items will be on hand to take with you this day.
Modbe Clothing $5 Sale in Vegas
Saturday December 20th 6:30 am – 2:30 pm
Broadacres Swap Meet Booth 78 & 79
2930 N Las Vegas Blvd, NLV
(Las Vegas Blvd and Pecos)
Shirts, Skirts, Sweaters $5
Swim Tops $15
All items will be on hand to take with you this day.
So here is the giveaway! If you post this information on your blog you will get a prize....if you have 10 friends tell us you sent them to either event you will get a prize. Let me know....and hope to see you there!
Is what I heard from my barely two year old as we are driving Easton to school today. She is just learning to talk and I understand about 1/3 of her words but today I definately caught "oh, dat snow awesome". A: when did she start talking so much B: where did she learn awesome? At least she didn't say A-W-E-S-O-M-E, awesome, awesome, like totally (ok so maybe that was a "rad" cheer that we were suppose to do in high school, but we didn't because we were too cool for it)
Come on baby do the Cocomotion!
I have been telling everyone lately about one of our favorite things...the cocomotion. This is what the walmart site said about it:
Hot chocolate and family entertaining go hand in hand. Mr. Coffee's Cocomotion automatic hot chocolate maker puts an end to overheated, overflowing milk on the stovetop and scorched pans to clean. It heats milk to just the right temperature and whips up frothy cups of hot chocolate and similar beverages in minutes.
Hot Chocolate Maker Features:
Makes 2 to 4 cups of hot chocolate at a time
Machine heats milk to just the right temperature for hot chocolate with no overflowing or scorching
Mixing disc thoroughly whips hot chocolate and other cocoa- or chocolate-based drinks at the touch of a button
Finished drink has an appealing frothy top
Lid twists and locks in place for easy pouring
Lighted "On" switch
Easy to clean
And the great thing about it...it only costs $23.84 at Walmart! With the chilly weather we have been having this has been put to good use at our house....and the cheap cocoa even tastes good in it!
I must have Addison completely brainwashed. This morning she knocked a stack of coupons off the kitchen table and said "oh no, coupons". My mission here is accomplished!
Dinner Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!
I want to have a party just to put Addie in this dress!
I have 283 pictures on my camera, and my computer won't upload them! But when it does, boy will you have a show to see!
Totally sang that song in 8th grade choir! So there have been a few comments about me having a good memory. I feel the need to clarify. I have an excellent memory....when it comes to random facts. I might remember that you had a goldfish named Fred....but I probably won't remember your husbands name. Or I will remember that your anniversary is June 3rd, but I won't remember to say happy birthday to you on your birthday. I am great at the meaningless facts or tidbits about you. I will probably remember doing lots of great things with you, but I forget to do simple things like get pictures taken for my Christmas cards this year. So while I have a great memory, it isn't for the things I would really like to remember. Here's a better example: I remember that Lindsay worked at hot dog on a stick and I remember not being able to shut the Waites van door. I remember walking down frozen streets in Rexburg, saying goodbye to MaryBeth, so sure I would never see her again because she lives in Florida. I remember the dress she wore to preference and what her date looked like. I remember how tall my date was and that he had a sister named Sarah (we were not "dating" so it's not like I knew him well). I remember my friend Janis's brothers and sisters names and can name them really fast (there are 11 kids) I remember most of the Waite's middle names (how random is that). I know who Aaron went to prom with (Rachel Dodini) and I remember some phone numbers really well (like Rachel's growing up) Yet I might forget I told you I would babysit or if you set up visiting teaching I might forget! I guess I am good at remembering how we connected. I am very sentimental. I hold onto things. I hold onto memories. Visiting teaching, because it hasn't happened yet, just doesn't hold a place in my heart. While I love your kiddos and am thrilled to tend them, it doesn't stick out in my mind like the time we laughed our heads off while getting pedicures (I am sure those nail girls remember us too). Have any good ideas for me to remember other things (like to put your dog in the garage at night)?!
So hearing everyone talk about their obsession with facebook, I finally made an account. Low and behold I find my best friend from when I was 3! Rachel Elizabeth (which happens to be my cousins name too) While having one of my bouts of insomnia I did a little jog down memory lane. These are some of my memories with Rachel:
We went to preschool together. One day my mom dropped me off at a friends to be babysat. When she picked me up the lady had cut my hair and permed it so I looked like Annie (totally wish I were kidding). In our preschool pictures with teacher Cynthia Rachel has these long lovely locks and I have my lovely Annie hairdo (only puffier if that is possible)
I played at Rachel's house. I have a bunch of memories there. We would ring the doorbell and pretend we were the maids there to clean the house. We pretended we were getting married in her front yard at least a dozen times. Rachel had one of those great wooden train sets I loved to put together. We played in her bar area. ( I of course had no idea what it was, but there were miniature glasses that were just our size (aka shot glasses) Rachel had a great pool in the backyard and we swam a lot. I remember our brothers walking off the diving board saying "this is Howard Coselle" the pretend they had gotten shot and fell into the water. (complete with Howard's voice. Why he got shot? I guess so he could fall in the water) I remember waiting outside the bathroom while Rachel would get her breathing treatments for asthma. I remember sitting outside that same bathroom while Rachel was in timeout and her talking me into moving the timer so she could get out quicker. In Rachel's kitchen there was a treat drawer. They had those real fruit leathers, not the junkie kind kids have now. They also always had push up pops. I remember walking around the block with her wagon collecting those (we called them itch bombs, but they were on maple trees. They hung down and were ball shaped with pokies on them (great description huh)) We would take the balls, break them apart and the insides were soft, but itchy. We filled the wagon up in hopes of making a cat bed! Her next door neighbor had a slot machine, and you could play it for free! Rachel's grandma lived with her and had beautiful roses. I always thought it funny that she covered them up with fabric! I remember going to "Two Guys from Italy" with Rachel's family. By now my hair had grown out and we both had long hair, but mine was permed. I remember the waiter thinking I was the daughter and Rachel was the friend because Rachel's mom had naturally curly hair. I loved that! I was very shy as a kid, and Rachel wasn't. She always excelled at sports. We both joined gymnastics together and I dropped out when she was moved up to the next level. She of course rode a two wheeler before I did. I was so embarrassed to ride on the kiddy seat behind her mom while Rach rode along by herself! One time when I was having a sleepover I swallowed a gobstopper. I was sure it was stuck in my throat. Her dad (a doctor) thought it wasn't really stuck, but had just scrapped my throat when I had swallowed it. We had ice cream a few minutes later. I was sitting at her bar, in their leater bar stools, eating the ice cream. I look one bite and up came that gob stopper and the ice cream. I am thinking it really was stuck. We would go skiing in the winter time. I remember sitting on the back of her Jeep Waggoner sipping on hot chocolate while wearing my moon boots. My mom always brought me egg salad sandwiches to eat for lunch, and I hate egg salad sandwiches. Of course Rachel was a better skier too! 
During this time we also went and got our pictures taken together. We wore matching blue Izod sweats. We also wore pink gunnysack dresses and skirts with fancy white blouses. Because I was shy, Rachel is smiling in all the pictures and I think you can see actual teeth in maybe one of my pictures. 
The year of the cabbage patch doll: I had a blond girl with pig tails...Rachel had two of them! Boy was I jealous! I remember sitting while she practiced piano (I think her teacher was my neighbor Mrs. Heinrich.) Rachel had this lovable lab...I think her name was tootsie. We have a video of Rachel, Aaron Waite and myself on the first day of kindergarten. It is the last year when Rachel and I were in the same class. Here I am with my fro and Rachel with her locks of glory and shy little Aaron in his polyester pants scooting along after us (I look at it and see how dang adorable he was) I also have on with my fro and polyester blue floral dress....it was a winner! When I was in the 4th grade my dad had to have major surgery. So I stayed at Rachels while my parents went to Salt Lake for the procedure. We called up the "Ninja Love Line" which was the request hot line for the radio station. When we were freshman in high school we went with our families to Las Vegas where our brothers were playing in the State Baseball tournament. We stayed in the Tropicana and had a room to ourselves (with Sara Walters, our friend whose brother was also playing) It was the first time I had ever taken a taxi, we rode in it to the baseball field). I have so many memories of Rachel. We did a lot together. Most of my young memories include her. I thought of her mom as my second mom. It was sure fun to find her again and get caught up on her life, she lives in Sweden now! So the moral of the story?! I guess I like facebook too. Oh and if you go the babysitter, don't let her touch your hair!
I just talked to my sister and a friend of mine from junior high was arrested this week for burglary. He was also charged with an ex felon having a firearm. I know that he has been addicted to drugs for a long time. I have had a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that such a great friend can make decisions that will lead him down this path he is on, and can't seem to get off of. Drug are stupid, aren't they!?! I am so sad for him, and for his family. When I think about people from junior high I imagine them similar to they way they are now....only perhaps married with kids. I have heard a few friends from high school died in different accidents. One friend is a writer for Desperate Housewives. That is how I imagine my friends, successful! Any of your friends have great success or great failure?
So one of my fears is that I will give a lame gift. I love to think of gifts that totally fit the person and are meaningful. I love the excitment I feel while they are unwrapping the gift. I like them to know I cared enough to put in real effort. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in finding a great gift that I run out of time and then do end up with a lame gift. Like my brother I have given a gift card to for the last 3 years. While it is a good gift....it is still boring. Teachers gifts are always a hard one. I don't really know them well enough to get them a heartfelt gift. I also don't want to spend a bundle. Last year I got them gift wrapping supplies (paper, tape and ribbon) I don't know if that is lame or not. It is useful. One year I got them classroom supplies, but that is more for the classroom, not them. When only Brooke was in school, and had the best teacher in the world, and my BFF owned a cleaning company, I got her a gift certificate for the ladies to clean her house for an hour. It was cheap for me and amazing for the teacher. That just isn't possible now. I hate the thought of getting candy because I am sure they get a ton of it. I also don't want to get anything with apples or the abc's for the same reason. So I am on the hunt....anyone have a good teacher gift idea. If not I will stick with my present wrapping theme. I got it all at the dollar store for cheap. Please help me! I want to be the coolest mom in the classroom. (Don't laugh....I know you want the same thing....so be the coolest mom)
We live about 5 minutes from Tuachan amphitheatre. Every year they have a live nativity complete with camels! It costs $2 per person or $10 per family. They also have a train ride that costs $1 per person. The train ride takes you on a backstage tour of the theatre. Come one, come all. You're welcome to visit us and we will go see the nativity together. (Hint hint: especially those that might live in Vegas or Northern Utah)
