Friday, January 30, 2009

Wanda Knows "Gone With The Wind"

Episode 15: Wanda Knows "Gone With The Wind"

The Background: I was over at Wanda's house and she was talking about how dumb it is that people swear in movies.

Wanda: If I could I would go back to the first movie that swore, you know "Blowing in the Wind" and take that one word out."

Celeste: "What?"

Wanda: "Well Ammon was saying that 'Blowing in the Wind' was the first movie that swore and after that it became acceptable. So if I took that one word out, maybe it wouldn't be a problem now."

(Ammon had actually said that in Gone With The Wind they swore for the first time in front of a woman. But the best part is 'Blowing In The Wind')

Wanda Knows "Fraulein"

Episode 14: Wanda Knows "Fraulein"

The Background: Mom and Dad were watching The Sound Of Music the other day. Wanda walked into the room just as Maria was running up to the front of the Vontrapp mansion.

The Butler guy comes to the door and she says something along the lines of "I'm the new governess captain!" and he says "And I'm the old Butler Fraulein."

Wanda: "Oh!" (very excited) "I thought he always said 'I'm the old Butler for alarm!' But he says her name Fraulein!"

(for alarm?!)

When asked what she thought this meant later her response was "It didn't make much sense to me but I thought that it should.")

If I don't call

It's just because my phone has had a bad experience. Yesterday Craig and I were at the library playing in the little stream there. We were having a wonderful time and he LOVED all those rocks in the middle of the water, so of course he had to climb on them.

At one point I was sitting out there with him with my camera around my neck, my phone safely in my pocket and my Craig safely in hand. I got a text message just then and as I pulled my phone out of my pocket Craig decided to fall off the rock. I had the phone in my hand by then and quickly shoved it in my pocket and grabbed Craig just before he fell over the edge.

But then I heard a sickening "Splash!" and yes, there in the water in front of me was my phone. completely submerged. By the time I got Craig up in my arms and got down to where I could get the phone it had been, well lets be honest probably no more than 5 seconds, but it seemed like at least a minute.

I have turned it on today and even called someone with it. I was going to try putting it in a bag of rice because I heard that that pulled the moisture out but I didn't get that done last night. I might still try it though. It still acts a little funny but it might just be functional... I hope.

Shopping and Saving.

I am so grateful for Shannon for introducing me to the Grocery Smarts Coupon program. Anyone who knows me know that we would practically never go to get groceries until there was nothing left but spices in our cupboards, (and just a faithful clove of garlic in our fridge.)

But since I started doing this we actually have FOOD. Not only that but we have EXTRA food. It is wonderful. And it does wonders for my peace of mind. I feel like a much better wife and mother. And K.C. feels like a better provider because he can SEE that it's working instead of just know that we could get food if we wanted it. And the best part is we are saving money too!

(I guess I should correct myself, K.C. always wants food, so he was not the hold up, I was. I just have this bad problem of forgetting all about it.)

Anyways the other day we had an awesome shopping run. We probably could have done better but we're still getting the hang of it. (I think I'm spoiled though because K.C. does it with me. and he helps A LOT. I'm pretty sure he's the mastermind behind all of our success.)

So check this out:

Anyone care to guess the total?

Total Spent:
$189.36

(not bad considering all of the laundry detergent, deodorant, Panteen ProV products... well everything. But in general those things are more expensive.)

This is the best part...

Total saved
$409.09

I love it!

And then K.C. went back because the Gillette Fusion Razors were on sale for less than buying refills so why not get a whole new razor?

The total for that one?

Total Spent $7.22
(for 4 razor packs with extra cartridges.)

Total Saved $32.00

I'm starting to feel like we got ripped off if we don't save at least as much as we spent. And I feel really good when we save twice as much or more.

Thanks Shannon. I think it's safe to say that you've seriously increased our quality of life.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Breaking News

Some really exciting news everyone!
Nephi Farr
just came out with his first album! It's called "Me". I can't wait to hear it! This is really exciting to me because along with being insanely talented, he's my little brother!

If anyone is interested in getting a CD there are a limited number of them. And if anyone is interested in just listening to it I'll have a copy that you can borrow. (Maybe, if you ask nicely).

Way to go Nephi! I'm so excited for you!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Birthday Memories

I was going through my hope chest and found several wonderful (and several not-so-wonderful) memories from my past.

One of them was this present that I received form my sister Angela. It was on very fancy paper, typed with very official and elegant font:

Most Honorable Celeste:

Because of the exceeding self control and admirable forthrightness exhibited by you in regards to the object of mutual concern it has therefore been determined that to you, and henceforth and forever, for the duration of one wee, will be awarded the most excellent and desirable gift, inherent in the person of the first degree, such that 'til the conclusion of one week from today, the 25th, be given with consideration and deference, control of the light.
To demonstrate the encompassing esteem in which you are held by all parties this award is hereby bestowed upon you this most auspicious day.


Given by order of the person of the first degree,
Angela Farr

After reading this i remembered the epic struggles that we would have for the light. I loved to stay up late and write in my journal (looking back at some of those entries... I really should have listened to Angela and just gone to bed!) or write in my book. (which also would have been better left alone.) Or read. (That one at least wasn't a complete waste).

Angela on the other hand always liked to go to bed earlier and then wake up at completely ridiculous times in the morning. Like 6 and 7. I couldn't understand why that was a better plan... (apparently I still don't have it figured out because I never go to bed early.)

So we would take turns (theoretically) and one night she'd be able to turn the light off when ever she wanted. The next night would be my turn, and sadly for her often i would fall asleep doing whatever I was doing and never actually turn the light off.

This gift from her was truly a sacrifice and gesture of true sisterly love. Thanks Ang

Monday, January 26, 2009

In Wanda's Defense

Update: OK so the last Wanda Knows (America) was a slight misrepresentation. I got the information from my brother who told it as he heard it. But then I was talking to Wanda and she thought that she was saying "Mexico" and that is what she meant. That Mexico (not 'New Mexico) is not part of the United States.

I'm still a little confused about how it all worked out, and who said what, and what they were trying to say. But, no matter how you look at it, it's still good.

Wanda Knows "America"

Episode 13: Wanda Knows America

The Background: My brothers were talking to my dad and one of them while trying to find a car asked "Dad is New England in America?" This spurred a thought in my other brother Jake...

Jake: "Why do we have states that are 'New' this and 'New' that like "New Mexico" and "New Hampshire?"

Wanda: Exasperated "Jake," (like duh) "The United States doesn't name them. America does. Because New Mexico isn't in the United States, it's in America."

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Pinewood Derby

We had the Pinewood Derby last night! It was actually a lot of fun. I'd never been to one before, let alone PLANNED one!

I was so afraid that it would be a total flop. But it wasn't! people actually came.

K.C. did an excellent job as the Cubmaster and everyone had lots of fun.

It's fun to be in Cub Scouts. (Even if it is a little... LOT overwhelming!)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Wanda

It was so fun to have Wanda come on this trip with us! We really had a blast.
(And she was a ton of help with Craig.)

We took lots of pictures and I just had to post a few. Isn't she gorgeous?


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Birthday Trip - Tracy Aviary

Monday is my birthday and so we decided to do something random and crazy. This shouldn't come as a surprise to most, crazy and random is an integral part of our lives.

So we went to Salt Lake City!

We left about 11:00 (pm :) on Friday night, and got to my cousin Lorens about 3:30am.

This is our history of Saturday!

We got up, got ready and.... went to the 50th Birthday party of an Andean Condor! Who goes to the birthday party of a BIRD? It was hilarious, but fun. We really only got there in time for the cake but then we wandered around the Tracy Aviary for several hours.

It was so fun to have Craig there. He recognized several of the birds and got very excited.

This is Craig clasping his hands in
'his sign' for Vulture.
(For the 2 Vulture's behind him on the rock)
There were peacocks just wandering around the whole place.
They were really pretty and really friendly. They would come right up to you. Craig LOVED it.
Oh I forgot to mention that we took Wanda with us just for the fun of it.
(and it is a lot of fun.)Wanda would hold out her hand and make clucking noises trying to get them to come close to her.So obviously Craig had to do the same thing... I didn't get a very good picture of it, but now every time he sees a peacock he holds out his hand a clucks. (even to these pictures).
There were some awesome places there so Wanda and I had to take pictures with my new camera. We had fun. I love my sister.

Then we found the flamingo's I never knew that they turned pink because of the food that they ate. I thought that was fascinating.

Craig tried to get them to come to him too. They weren't very interested.Bald Eagle is another one of his words so we could hardly hold on to him when we saw this guy.
It was very cold (especially for us wussy St. George folk.) And Craig's hands were FREEZING.

We don't have any gloves for him so that's our first order of business on Monday before we head to the Hogle ZOO! I can't wait to show him all those animals! So fun.

This is poor little exhausted Craig with his hands in his pockets trying to keep warm. He was so tired by the time we left that he fell asleep while Wanda was holding him. (About 10 minutes after this picture, in this exact position.)
Here are a few more pictures of our little family. I thought Wanda did pretty good.

Then we went shopping, since there are places to shop here and were able to get me a few pairs of pants! I am so excited not to have to switch back and forth between the same 2 pairs! Oh happy day.

We'll be home on Monday night (my Birthday.) But the morning is going to be action packed! Stay tuned for the next episode!

(Speaking of episodes I'm Way behind on Wanda Knows! This trip has been awesome!)

Wanda Knows "Morning Sickness"

Episode 12: Wanda Knows Morning Sickness

The Background: We are up in Salt Lake City with my cousin Loren and his wife, Jessica, who is expecting their first child. Jessica mentioned morning sickness, and that's when it began...

Wanda: "Wait what is morning sickness anyways?"

Jessica: "It's when your pregnant and you throw up in the mornings, and don't feel well."

Wanda: "OOOHHH! O.K. That makes more sense."

K.C.: "Why? What did you think morning sickness was?"

Wanda: "I thought it was when you were really sad. You know like 'Mourning Sickness'?"

K.C.: "So you could say, 'Fred what's wrong?' and he'd say 'Oh you know my aunt just died and I've got mourning sickness real bad today.' Like that?"

Wanda: "Yeah, it never even occurred to me that it was MORNING sickness, and that you got sick in the morning."

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Wanda Knows "KO!"

Episode 11: Wanda Knows K.O.

The Background: Wanda was watching my brother play a boxing game on the xbox. He won the round and big letters flashed across the screen "KO!" Later on:

Wanda: Celeste do you know what "KO" means?

Celeste: "I'm guessing it means Knock Out."

Wanda: Seems bummed out. "Oh, O.K. never mind."

K.C.: "Why what did you think it meant?"

Wanda: "Well I was watching Nephi play this boxing game and it looked like the people that were boxing were Japanese. When he won the round "KO!" popped up on the screen. So I thought maybe it was Chinese for "O.K.!"

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Sprinklers!

Thanks to some wonderful people we finally have our sprinkler system in our back yard!

Here are some of the trenches.
Laying the final pipes for the sprinkler system.
And THEN...

Ta da! This is the most like a yard that it's ever looked! I'm so excited!
Our current project is a small stone pathway around the garden. And another small rock wall at the end for flowers or something like that. It's going to be so fun to be able to be in our yard this spring!

I just hope our next round of plants fares better than the first!

Big Bad Bush

We have a bush in our front yard. Well actually it's not in our front yard, it's in our neighbors front yard.

This bush is of the large and hideous variety. That only has a history of getting larger and hideous-er. :)

So K.C. (my brave husband / messenger of peace) went and asked our neighbors if they were overly attached to this bush that is overflowing onto our property (covering our water meter) and constantly smells of cat urine. (yuck)
To my delight (and I'm sure to the delight of the rest of the neighborhood) they said they didn't care a bit and to rip it out if we wanted.
My dad just happened to be there with the van at that exact moment. (O.K. so it wasn't a coincidence). We got out the trusty tow strap and cinched it around the bush.
Mother was there in full support. Seated in her recliner which is her chair in the van, she had quite the ride as we bounced and jostled and proceeded to combine all our powers against the bush.
We had to employ many tactics: Flailing around under the mass trying to hit roots. (and trying to avoid cat poo.)
Jumping on the tow rope.
Mom Bracing herself for the next impact! (You are definitely a trooper mom. I think you were mostly responsible for the removal of that bush. Without your pulling and heave-ho-ing that bush would never have let loose.)
Even with all this effort it seemed strangely solid. Like it's roots were made of iron. Now I would like you to take a moment and glance through the previous pictures one more time. Is there anything that would give you cause for alarm or any indication that there was more to this bush than a big, ugly... bush?
and finally we just started pushing (when I say 'we' I really mean K.C.) With a very satisfying crunch it finally gave way and started to follow the van, instead of stand firmly where it was.

Hooray! The bush is gone!
Well actually now it lives on our sidewalk while we are trying to find someone to haul it away. Or borrow a truck so we can do it.

But wait. What's this? Now we see the culprit of our not so willing bush.

Some genius planted this bush right on top of all the important electrical and water related things for our house. you'll see in the below picture

1. our telephone connection box.

2. our cable connection box.

The fist one was poking out of the bush enough to see so we didn't wrap the tow rope around it. But the cable box was right in the heart of the thing and we had a good solid grip on it and we ripped it right out of the ground. (no cables were broken but the box is pretty much smashed)

Sandwiched right between the two is a black electric box buried in the ground. (I forgot to point it out in the picture but it was completely inaccessible.

Is that all? Oh no, the 2 water meter boxes for the properties were hidden beneath it as well. These were slightly accessible but required some digging through the foliage.

Who would think to dive into the middle of that thing to get to the cable box? I wonder how long these things have been MIA and no one has known the culprit.

In short I'm glad it's removed. I will be gladder when it's gone. And it was a grand adventure.

Now we just need to get the cable people to come repair that box. Thankfully we don't have cable so it isn't a huge rush.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Wanda Knows "Razor Refills"

Episode 10: Wanda Knows Razor Refills

The Background: This is the second burst of knowledge that we got from Wanda on our way home.

Wanda: "I had a razor that had the replaceable tips. And I had 4 boxes of extra tips."

Celeste: "Cartridges? Refills? Blades?"

Wanda: "Yeah those. It's so funny because I never knew how they worked. I figured out how to get them off and put another one on but I thought that when you put it back in the holder that it sharpened them.

I had 4 boxes of refills so I would use a blade till it got dull and then put it back in the holder and get another one. When that case was empty I would start on the next one. Then when I finished that case I'd go to the next one and when then were all gone I'd go back to the first. It wasn't working very well because they were still dull. But I used them anyways."

Celeste: "You thought that the case sharpened your old razor blades for you?"

Wanda: "Yeah!"

Celeste: "So how long have you been waiting for them to get sharp?"

Wanda: "I've had the same 4 boxes since I was 12." (She's about to turn 16) "But I just threw 2 of them away."

Celeste: "Wow! (very impressed by the perseverance) So you still have the other 2 boxes?"

Wanda: "Yes."

Celeste: "That you've had since you were 12?"

Wanda: "Yes."

Celeste: "They're not getting any sharper. Why do you still have them?"

Wanda: "I don't have the money to get more. It's better than nothing."
(I don't think I agree! Ouch!)

Wanda's response to my "Ouch!" - "It doesn't hurt, it just doesn't cut 'em all the way. At least it's not hairy like a dog." Pauses as I start to type... "I should have waited to say that hu?" Groans "I get myself into such trouble!"


Wanda Knows "Telephone Poles"

Episode 9: Wanda Knows Telephone Poles.

The Background: Wanda Knows fans, buckle up! In a short ride from Hurricane to home we had 3 of the most enlightening experiences. In a matter of minutes the next 3 Wanda Knows episodes poured out! I guess the long drought has meant that now it's time for the flood.

Driving home from Hurricane we rounded a corner as we neared the freeway on ramp. K.C. was trying to answer a phone call and his phone said that the "call was lost".

Wanda: "Yeah phones never work very good right here. It's funny because they don't ever work even though we're driving right under these telephone poles."

Celeste: "Yeah that is funny, especially since telephone poles don't even have anything to do with these phones."

Wanda: "Well if they don't have anything to do with phones why are they called telephone poles? And what are they for?"

Celeste: "What do you think they're for?"

Wanda: "I don't know, I always just thought they were these big tall poles towering above us that acted all powerful and that they were what made it so you could talk on the phone. That's why when you're driving through a canyon or a place where there are no telephone poles your phones don't work."

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Gym

We did it again! I'm just so excited that we are finally following through with our good intentions to go to the gym! Even through the first week of school and some stomach pain for me we are still going! Not that I know what to do when I get there or if it's doing any good, but it's better than not doing anything.

It's amazing how much better things go when I can add one more thing to the "accomplished" list instead of the "I'm too much of a slacker to get to it" list.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Back to the grind!

Today was K.C.'s last day before school starts again! It's been so wonderful to have him home all the time. To have him NOT doing homework. And to be able to accomplish things that have long been waiting for everything else to get done first.

We got his text book today and just looking at the stack made me sigh with relief that I am not in school too. I get awfully jealous of all the stuff he's learning and I'm not, but when I see all the work he has to do to get it I remind myself that now is the time and place to be "mommy" and happily learn what I can from K.C.

But on the bright side we made it to the gym today! Thanks to Shannon for watching Craig!
(And In spite of the fact that as I was putting on my shorts I was standing much too near our bathroom counter and raised my knee much too fast and as my kneecap connected with the lip on the counter I felt the counter top heave and feel as if it had been jostled from it's happy home. Almost instantly a very angry looking welt appeared and it has continued to ripen into a very painful, rather pathetic knee! Yes in spite of that... We made it! Yay for us!)

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Family Pictures

We recently had K.C.'s sister in town and while she was here she took our family pictures. We were very pleased with how they turned out.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Kaylea!

Here's our cute son!
Blowing kisses

Beautiful eyes!




These are some of my favorites!


My amazingly good looking husband!
I Love him so much!