When Will She Crawl? Cast Your VOTE!!!!

As you can see in this delightful video (she was kinda grumpy, sorry), in the past 24 hours, Gwen discovered how to get up on forearms and knees and is beginning to rock back and forth.She hasn't figured out how to do hands and knees yet and I don't think it has even occured to her that this might lead to another mode of transportation. She's just trying out new things. Well, everyone always says, and I quote, "It won't be long now!" or "She'll be crawling before you know it!"....

well, hmmm, how long will this really take? Take a stab at predicting when she'll ACTUALLY crawl! (make comments for posterity, if you like, since I plan to Blurb everything at the end of the year. But also take the poll on the right.)

(The winner(s) will get glory, laud, and honor, but only in blog-a-mania- world. Other than that, you'll just feel validated, I suppose. :))

Wicked Singing!

Wicked. Not just an 80's adjective anymore. We're talking about a musical with INCREDIBLE music to accompany an equally exciting plot detailing the hidden story of the Wicked Witch of the West. Turns out she and Glinda, the good witch, were college roomies. It is a great story; I highly recommend seeing the musical if you get the chance. I'm still waiting for that chance, so if you beat me to it, don't rub it in please.
Anyway, we had a variety show with multiple congregations at our church. Our University Student Ward (congregation) choir did a medley from Wicked. Kimball, Heather, Kelli, Bishop and Sister Wallace all rocked their lines in One Short Day and Ariel and Shellee did amazing on their solos in Popular. I had a solo/duet with Chelsea Haynie (very talented! Such an honor to sing with her!). We sang For Good, if you know the music. Gorgeous piece. Of course Carrie Jones stole the show with her solo on Defying Gravity, but that is to be expected from a future American Idol contestant! (Or atleast she OUGHT to be one!) We had a blast putting it all together in so little time! And now what will I use as an excuse for having these great songs stuck in my head?

Gwen likes to sing too. As I've been singing more around the house in preparation for this performance, she has picked up her musicality as well. I love it! :)

a few surprises in the last box

Remember in the Incredibles when Elastagirl calls her husband to announce they are officially moved in because she has unpacked the last box? Well, Eric and I have finally "moved in" to our apartment where we have, apparently, not officially been living for the last 2 years.

Amongst the loot of the last box, there were some surprises:

This tie. It was Eric's first tie ever. Cool, kinda, to see it... but I convinced him there were better ways of commemorating such things.

This pretty awesome (but not so space efficient) collection of Brazilian calling cards from his mission. Complete with a card of Bethlehem, a guy kissing a very pregnant belly, comic strips, food, and a random Japanese girl enjoying a bowl of noodles with chopsticks (is there a Japanese sub-culture in Brasil? News to me...). I was very amused. I don't want to just trash these, but haven't quite figured out how to use them in an art project yet. Any ideas? Paving a swimming pool, perhaps? :)

and...

wait for it...

THIS!

cuz of course, a box of random items wouldn't be complete without a rubber chicken foot... (what happened to the body? that's what I want to know...) :)

What does this tell you about my hubby? Did I mention he wouldn't let me throw away the bat skeleton from our old apartment in Springville? I guess I have my own collections of random things, especially supplies I'm going to use for sculpture... somewhere down the road... in some creative way, I'm sure! Could be worse though. I read about this couple that held on to their baby's first poopy diaper as a momento. Yuck! :) What strange things do you stumble upon in your spouse's drawer, in your own purse (and don't even remember putting that in there!), or in your children's pockets?

Beans and Bananas!

I guess green beans aren't her favorite... maybe some of you can relate? I don't know, I'm not really a picky eater at all. I certainly hope she doesn't end up with large aversions to food... I love to try new things and would be so sad if she only wanted mac and cheese! I am, however, getting ahead of myself. What I wanted to say is:

Gwen LOVES bananas! She's picky, mind you. She doesn't like them nearly as much mushed up and spoon fed as she does RAW and WRIGGLY (j/k), I mean, right out of the peel. Something about sticking her whole face in there just appeals to her... (I think she's going to be a Tomboy, like me.) She really goes to town!

Never Forget

Just a quick post here from Eric. This is the first time, I think, that I have posted on this thingy. I wanted to write a short Memorial Day post. This is a picture of my grandfather's older brother. He and my grandpa grew up in Utah on a farm. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, my great uncle Evan and his buddy volunteered for the air force. He became a co-pilot on a B-24 and flew more than twenty missions in the European theater. During his next to last mission, he was shot down and killed in action in Germany, just across the border from Holland. I have grown up hearing stories about him and what a good person he was. I know that he is still sorely missed by my grandfather. On several Memorial Days in the past, I went with grandpa to visit Uncle Evan's grave and lay flowers and an American flag there, and, without fail, there was a tear in grandpa's eye. It taught me that there are times, places, and things that deserve our respect, reverence, and gratitude. We have debts that can never be repaid. It taught me that there are things that we must never forget.

So, to all who have fought and died for liberty, who have given their lives for their families and their countrymen in order to defeat tyranny,

Thank you. We will never forget.

Are the Boards Torture?

Sometimes I wonder. Waterboarding... med school "Board"ing... comparable? Okay, probably not. But I still feel bad for Eric when he has his brain stuffed at the end of the day and he still can't get over the hump on his practice test scores... Does it seem to anyone else that they are forced to cram in superfluous amounts of medical material that doesn't pertain to potential fields of interest? You know, like, if Eric is going in to Radiology, why would he need to know some of these crazy details about Alzheimer Disease, details about embryological development, all the pathology stuff and microbiology stuff that he'll never use, or even all the names of individual wrist bones? Wouldn't it make more sense, save everyone money, and streamline things a lot more to test them specifically on the field they are hoping to enter? Then doctors could really focus their study energy and master the material rather than cram it in for the exam and then forget it or never use it after that. Just a thought. *sigh*. Vicarious Board taking is painful... painful to watch him! Won't it be nice when these are behind us? But I'm going to take a cue from my dearest friend, Jennie H, and not venture into the dark realm of complaining. Afterall, even WITH the Boards, we are still blessed with a very good life.

Even so, I'd like your opinion, if you have one. Are the Boards torture? Or maybe it is just that all standardized tests are torture!

Peek-a-Boo Baby!

Gwen is too cute when we play this game. Thought I'd give you a chance to enjoy for yourselves. :)