A Poem for Rosie!

Dearest Rosie,

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Please make my blog beautiful

and NOT look like poo!

or how about this...

Roses are red

Violets are blue,

My blog is pathetic

and really needs you!

 

or even better...

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

What is taking so long?

My blog asks of you!

Alright, enough said! Please sweet Rose, work your magic ASAP because we all know that...

Rosie!

Rosie!

I'm her fan!

If she can't do it...

No one can!

or how's this one...

Rosie!

Rosie!

Man oh Man!

She'll fix my blog

like no one can!

or better yet...

Rosie!

Rosie!

You're SO nice!

Please fix my blog

with sugar and spice!

(Just please no lice, rice or mice!)

Uh, yep! That should suffice!

Love your Auntie.

(PS! Dearest Mom and Dad. Remember all that money you spent on my English degree? Well...at least we tried, right?!? But, you'll be happy to know that I ran the "spell check" and not a single word came up misspelt! See! Not a total waste!)

Star Gazing!

On the day before Thanksgiving, our little family went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hunter at their new (well new to us) "temple house". The children had not been there yet and I really wanted them to see where Grandma and Grandpa were staying and what they were doing while serving as the Oakland Temple President and Matron.

It is a beautiful, little home on the hill across from the temple entrance. From their balcony is the most amazing panoramic view of San Francisco, the bay and the temple. It's gorgeous! Especially at night!

After a full day of the Oakland Zoo and dinner with Grandpa, we decided to give the poor man a much needed break from our craziness. (He was suffering, I could tell!) After all, he's used to being in the temple all day which, as you know, is a house of order, a house of peace, a house of prayer and NOT a house of the irreverent Jimmy 6! So, as to not wear out our welcome just minutes from arriving, we decided to take the Wild Things to walk around the temple grounds. It was a wise decision!

We really lucked out because even though the Christmas season hadn't officially started, we were lucky enough to see all of the Christmas lights on as they were putting the final touches on certain areas. The kids were mesmerized. It was pure magic! We walked all around. We touched the "front door" and explored the gardens on the rooftop. I loved being there with my little ones. It was peaceful and sacred and blissful...just like it should be. After a tour of the visitors center, we decided to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We were sure they missed us by now.

When we arrived, Grandpa had set up his larger then life telescope on the balcony so that the children could star gaze. They were sooo excited. They took turns standing on a chair peering into the heavens. I sat on the couch and watched them love the time with Grandpa!

Finally, I wanted in on the action and asked if I could have a turn. Little Sethie stepped down. "What are you looking at?" I asked. "Oh, just Jesus!" he replied nonchalantly as he walked away. Oh! My heart melted. I thought, how darling. He must think that he really sees Jesus up in the universe. Then I peeked into the telescope and BAM! Yep, sure enough, there was Jesus! Not noticing, they had tilted the telescope to face the temple and were totally zoomed in on the relief of Jesus on the front of the building. He was larger than life...as well as he should be! I couldn't stop laughing!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for loving us!

Difficulty level...100!

All that I have heard for years is, "Karen, you should start a blog. It's sooo easy! Anybody can do it!" or "Karen, you must blog. It couldn't be easier! All you have to do is log onto Blogspot and you're good to go!"

BUT...

For years I have hesitated with very legitimate comebacks like, "Uh, I should not start a blog. I am not just anybody! I don't even know how to get the pictures off of my really cheap camera!" or "Uhm, I must not blog because anything that requires me to "log onto" something is dangerous! For you see, on a difficulty scale of 1-10, computers are a 100 to me!"

BUT...

Against my better judgement, I jumped into the blogging pool and as expected, I am drowning under the weight of my own LAMENESS! "What?" I can hear you asking! "How can you be drowning when you only have 2 measly posts?" Yes, well...Stop right there! That is my point. Just so you know, that last dorky post took me FOUR days! That's right, F-O-U-R!

BUT...

As you can see, I did not quit! Like any true pioneer, I persevered and am now going to make you experience the agony of my inabilities! To begin, I had to download (upload?) pictures...yikes! Then, I had to organize and de-red eye each picture...lame camera! Next, I had to figure out how to add a "new" post...that took awhile! Then, I had to figure out what to write...easiest part! From there, I had to figure out how to find my pictures...NOT the easiest part! After calling Rosie and finally making Jimmy just do it, I added the pictures...sigh! Then, the pictures popped up in the wrong place and in the wrong order...WHAT!?! Couldn't figure out how to delete or move the pictures...Scream! Tried to add witty little captions like all of the professional bloggers out there...had no wit left! Worked for what seemed like eternity to center the captions without centering the text...seriously! When all looked well enough, did a "preview"...simple! Looked over preview and saw all sorts of spacing glitches...Noooooo! Went back and tried to fix glitches but they didn't show up...Huh?!? Did "preview" again and the glitches were still there...TORTURE! Toggled back and forth and back and forth but could NOT fix glitches...defeated! Finally, four long days later, decided to just post the stupid thing and MOVE ON with my life...FINALLY!

BUT...

Regardless of my inadequacies, I will continue! Sooner or later I will figure out this blogging thing! I am determined! Because, like O'Neill victoriously proclaimed after defeating Jimmy on the Wii...

I am UNDEBEATABLE!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

The beloved ring!



Look at him smile while I open his present!

Me being SUPER patient as Lulu kept grabbing my present away to open herself...AUGH!

So here's the story...

On the night before my birthday, little 5 year old Sethie came to me holding the 9 one dollar bills he's been saving in his piggy bank.

"Mom," he said very matter-of-fact, "tomorrow is your birthday and I don't want to spend all of my money on your present because I want to buy myself a Techdeck."

Uhm! A true dilemma.

Then he asked, "How many of these would I have to use if I wanted to buy you a ring?"

What? Did he just say that he wanted to buy me a ring? This coming from the kid who for the last two years has drawn my name for the family Christmas gift exchange and has refused to buy me a gift. Apparently the 3 and 4 year old Sethie was very aloof but it seems that the 5 year old Seth is a changed man. I almost died! Just the fact that he thought to buy me a ring made me all Vahklempt!

I gathered myself together and tried not to get too excited. Steady Mom! Steady! Calmly, I told him that he could probably find me a killer ring for 1 or 2 of his dollars.

"Really?" he asked, pleasantly surprised, eyes beaming.

"Yep!" I assured him that he would only have to spend 2 of his dollars. So he set 2 dollar bills aside and stuffed the other...well you know I can't do math...back into his piggy bank for that coveted Techdeck!

The next day Jimmy took Sethie to the store and they picked out this beauty together! I think that I will wear it for the rest of my life...or until my finger turns green!

Resolutions!

Well lookie here! I did it! I am now an official blogger. I have wanted to do this forever but was totally intimidated by the cyber world. TOTALLY! But this New Years Eve I actually decided that I was going to make a few resolutions for myself. SHOCKER, I know! I'm not a big "resolutions" type person because that takes planning, self reflection and desire which is a lot to ask of an unorganized mother right after the craziest season of the year! (And not to mention that I'm notorious for my LACK OF URGENCY as you will probably find out when I go weeks on end without posting!) But...here I am for now so let's just enjoy! I am so proud of myself! It's 11:30 PM on January 1, 2010 and I can sleep now knowing that I have at least started something! Ooohhhh this is going to be fun!