BUMMER.

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I REALLY DO LIKE TOAST.

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Press that little play button and take a minute to listen to this. How could a song about toast, accompanied by a banging toaster, be a disappointment? I promise it won't be. If this silliness doesn't make you grin for even a second, I'll send you 20 bucks.

I'm tellin' ya. Funny stuff.

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ODE TO TREE

When we first moved into this house, there was a beautiful, leafy tree in our front yard {See picture of our house on sidebar -->} . I liked having the shade, a pretty view, and a place to hang my bird feeder where I could watch it from the window. But strangely, that next summer, leaves on half of it decided not to grow. And another summer later: not a single leaf. Our tree was dead.

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It got to the point that every time a heavy windstorm ripped through this valley (not an uncommon occurrence around here), we had to move our vehicles from the driveway so falling branches wouldn't crush them. We finally saw that it was time to say farewell to our tree.

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Ironically, the same day it was cut down, we were dragging a Christmas tree into the living room. It was surprisingly sad to look out that window, to see...nothing. And we had big plans for that tree! Christmas lights were eventually going to be wrapped around the trunk. I was going to read in its shade over the summer. And I have no idea where to put this bird feeder now.

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But do you wanna hear the really sad part? We'll still have to rake leaves in the fall. Our neighbors across the street, have what I believe to be, the largest tree in the state of Idaho. And for some unknown reason, the leaves don't ever land in their yard. Every single blasted one, after dancing in the autumn breeze, lands softly on our lawn. Does anyone have a GIANT fan we can borrow?

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TUESDAY NIGHT MEETINGS

7:38 p.m.

House to myself a couple more hours

pajama pants and cozy socks

hair pulled back in to pig tails

Sliced apples

Crunchy peanut butter

Quiet reading time

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Pandora for company

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8:45 p.m.
A date with Billy Blanks and my TV

(That's right. Don't want to mess with me in a dark alley.)

11:36 p.m.

Andrew's home!

Late-night snuggle and goodnight kiss

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Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

(That's Andrew snoring, by the way)

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QUESTION.

You are sitting in a restaurant with your spouse enjoying a night out. Suddenly, you both become aware of a table of young, single college girls sitting across the aisle from you. They are talking and laughing loudly about...let's just say...topics of a pornographic nature. It's becoming very distracting. Do you say something?

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MADE ME LAUGH

JIM BRICKMAN

If you've ever listened to that oh-so-romantic radio show, 'Delilah', then you've heard of Jim Brickman. I swear, all wedding songs are written by this man. Anyway, he made a concert stop at BYU-I. The piano is my favorite instrument to listen to, so I bought tickets.

Andrew was a wonderful sport: He held my hand, stayed awake 'til the end (basically), and pretended to enjoy it very much. It turned out to be an awesome show and much-needed night out.

WORD TO THE WISE (FROM THE UNWISE)

NEVER pick a fight with one of these, because...

YOU WILL LOSE!

This evil contraption will haunt you in your dreams, and make you literally shudder each time you use it in the future. Not to mention, you will forever hold scars as proof of your idiocy.

LIFE'S SECRETS UNLOCKED IN IDAHO GARDEN

We like to take walks. I especially like to walk past this house down the road from us. It is so charming! The little old lady who lives here puts so much time and effort into the yard. She is ALWAYS out in her gardens.



Pretty gardens.



This sign is on one side of the house.

What is the key, you ask?

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Can you see the heart?

(Those shadows are of Andrew and I doing just that: being in love)

IRON MAN

http://ironmanjace.blogspot.com/

A first grader at the school that I work at was just diagnosed with Leukemia the first week of the new school year. His mom set up this blog to keep everyone posted as he begins treatment. Personally, I despise the blog. It makes me cry every time I look at it, and I hate getting all emotional (my least favorite movie on the entire planet is Charly). It doesn't help that Jace's mother seems to have a gift for writing. But with that said, go check out the blog. It is updated regularly. Just be sure to read it with a box of Kleenex.


Also:
1. Here is a link to the local news coverage about the Pep Rally our school held in Jace's honor.

http://www.localnews8.com/global/story.asp?s=11152971#


2. A support fund has been established at Beehive Federal Credit Union in Rexburg and Idaho Falls. Just ask for the ‘Jace Leatham Fund' to make a donation.

A FRIENDLY LETTER

Dear 24-Hour Flu Bug,

I hate your stinkin' guts. You make me vomit. You're scum between my toes!

Love,
Rachel

OUT FOR A SPIN

I got home from work the other day to this shnazzy contraption in the driveway (and Andrew's face in the window to gauge my reaction as I saw it). Andrew is doing work for a friend who lives almost an hour away. To keep making the trip in Andrew's truck from destroying our wallet, this generous friend has been sharing his more cost efficient vehicles.

That evening, we of course, took advantage of it and went for a drive. Our first order of business was to casually pull up next to a tree at Porter Park where my sister was reading a book. The looks of curiosity, recognition, and then shock on her face at seeing us in a bright red Mercedes convertible was way too much fun.




As fun as it was, I learned very quickly that for me, riding through town in a car like that was like reliving those dreams where you're at school when you suddenly realize you're naked. Everyone that we passed on the road blatantly stared with a goofy grin on their face. I was soon cowering in the seat in an attempt to disappear from view. I've never been one to enjoy the spotlight.

I was able to enjoy the ride once we were out of town and out of sight of everyone we know. It was a surreal feeling to ride through the epitome of rural, agrarian life in such a flashy ride. A convertible sure opened our senses up to the full experience of Idaho country. We could hear the geese calling out as they flew in their V's over the highway, inhale the wheat being harvested in nearby fields, smell that distinct yummy scent of wood burning stoves (and dairy farms), and we even got to enjoy a full moon as we rolled back into town. And then we figured that a night in a convertible wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Sonic drive-thru. What a fun night!

IN OTHER NEWS...

1.) A gargantuan 50-inch screen television is being stored in our living room for a friend. It looks rather ridiculous on the stand we have. And it is so big it has required me to move the pictures around on the walls so that they aren't hidden behind it.

We don't really watch TV, but our movie watching has sure been fun these days! We hope to conveniently "misplace" it before our friend comes to pick it up.

2.) This van was spotted in the Melaleuca parking lot downtown with the following message painted on the windows:

Does this freak anybody else out?

3.) A naked baby was recently seen on the hood of an F-250 in the Gringo's Parking Lot.

I'm not really sure why I thought anybody else would be interested in this random event. Just plain weird.

4.) My little sisters continue to be dang adorable.

5.) Lucky us. My love and I are off to the beautiful state of Washington tomorrow!! We are to spend an entire week playing at the lake with friends and then visiting fun family members! Catch you all lata'!

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GROWINGS ON AT OUR HOUSE

I recently went downstairs to our cold-storage room and found this bag of potatoes {gleaned from last fall} growing...Medusa hair. I'm thinking it's probably time it was thrown out.

It made me think of our garden. It is currently yielding bushels and bushels of luscious, green...weeds. We haven't even watered it once!

In our defense:

1.) I do have some successful blooms on our front porch. They make me very happy.

2.) Andrew helped some friends build their house this year for free. As payment, they are sharing with us the benefits of their gigantic garden...without the work of watering and weeding!

The peas were ripe first. We were just over there picking buckets and buckets full.
{Andrew and Josh}

Our freezer is now stocked with the yummiest of garden peas.

I'm excited for the corn, onions, beans, cantaloupe, carrots, and lettuce to come!

YES, WE ARE NERDS

Andrew and I have read all of the books out loud together several times, own all the movies, and watch them more often than any others that we own...

And we have been anxiously awaiting this day for a very long time. We are nerdy enough to be one of those crazy midnight premiere ticket holders you saw on the news waiting in ridiculously long lines to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. However, we are still a level lower on the Geek-O-Meter than those who showed up in full Wizard costumes. (But if we were being completely honest here, if I was younger and still single...I would totally be one of them.)

Here we are getting in line at about 9pm.

Check out all the people who got there even earlier than us to stand in line...




... the line kept going around the corner of the building...

...and back behind the theater.

Every screen in the theater was devoted to Harry Potter...3,000 people in total! Crowd control was handled surprisingly well. We were seated and ready to go about 2 1/2 hours beforehand. Though I have to say...that's a long time to wait. As you can see, things got a bit crazy. Andrew resorted to digging through women's purses for sunglasses to entertain himself with. (Jared looks like he was beginning to lose it too!)

Despite the show starting about 45 minutes late, the movie was FABULOUS. It diverted from the book a bit, but Andrew and I were not disappointed in the slightest. Check out what time we stumbled into the car afterward! By the time we drove the 30 minutes back to Rexburg and fell into bed, I could see streaks of sunlight on the horizon in the east. If you are judging us right now...you can just get off your high hippogriff! The experience was TOTALLY worth it.

Rexburgian Grafitti

"In matters of conscience the majority has no place" --Gandhi

Andrew and I were just taking a walk and happened by it.

Only Rexburg (that I've ever seen), has such uplifting grafitti. I mean, it could be so much worse, right?

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LITTLE CONTEST:

Look familiar? 100 points for the first person who can guess correctly which downtown store has this graffiti on the side wall.

Water Sprites

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Andrew called for me to come quick one afternoon as I was busy with school stuff in the other room. When I got to a kitchen window, he pointed this out to me:

Some neighborhood children had sneaked into our backyard and started playing in our sprinkler. We really enjoyed listening to their squeals and watching them desperately try to avoid the water as it rotated directions. When they saw us watching however, they thought they were in trouble and quickly ran away. We felt bad, called after them, and invited them to play in our sprinklers anytime. At this news, they celebrated and brought the rest of the neighborhood back to play with them. This must have made quite an impression on them, because now, we get knocks on the door to random kids all the time. They are either on the stoop with arm fulls of flowering weeds for me or asking poor Andrew questions like:

"Is the lady here?"

or:

"Can you turn on the sprinklers?"

or our favorite:

"Can we have a treat?"

Recently, I got out of my car to three smiling children standing in a line on my driveway. They stood in a way that kind of blocked me from going anywhere and they just stood there...staring at me. They didn't say a word and would only respond to my attempts at conversation with giggles, nods, and shrugs. They even resorted to ignoring my questions altogether and whispering secrets in each other's ears. It was one of the most awkward experiences of my life. I stood there for several minutes trying to decide: Do I continue to remain on the driveway while we smile silently at one another? Or should I excuse myself and go inside?

The cherry on top though, is the tendency for these kids to waltz right into out house now and wander all over as if they own the place. We once made the mistake of leaving the door open on a warm evening. I happened to be in the back room getting dressed after a shower when I suddenly heard little voices in our kitchen! Andrew chased them out before any innocent eyes were sullied, but holy heck! I guess that is one of the problems with being nice to kids...then they like you! The real question is: How do we get rid of them now?

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