Crazy Eights

I have been tagged a few times and I am sorry I haven't done this yet, I have wanted to, I have just been lazy :).

8 TV shows I like to watch
Jeopardy
Lingo
Wheel of Fortune
Family Feud
(are any of you sensing a theme yet?)
Rescue 911 (like forever ago)
TLC shows
The Newlywed Gameshow
MATLOCK!!!

8 Restaurants I like to eat at
Olive Garden
Grand Chinese Buffet
Souper Salad
Teriyaki Stix
Subway
Any buffet because then I can eat TONS of salad
PF Changs
Tucanos

8 Things that Happened Today
Spent time with my family
Had a nice long lunch with Dave
Practiced a piano number at the church
Did some relief society stuff
Drove to Salt Lake
Attempted to go to the Lionhouse...grrrrr...didn't happen...grrrrr
Drove home
Went on a date with Handsome Dave

8 Things I am looking forward to
Sunday!!
Christmas break
Washing Machine
Dryer
Dishwasher
Non cinderblock walls
Finding a job (I guess this is Dave's thing, but you can all relate I am sure)
Another baby (no, I am not pregnant... just looking forward to more children)

8 Things on my wishlist
Isn't this pretty much the same thing as above? How about 8 things I would put in my dream home...
Granite Countertops
Lots of big windows
Vaulted Ceilings
A double shower
Lots of bedrooms (they don't have to be large)
A big kitchen sink
A big flat yard to play lots of sports in
A large family room

Rather than tag people, here are 8 things I am grateful for (non church/family things because of course those are at the top of every list)
Hot chocolate
Good music and being able to create good music
Chapstick
Contact lenses...I guess glasses too if it REALLY comes down to it
Fingernail clippers
Razors
Chips and Salsa
A furnace

So much to do, so little time!!

This kid is efficient!

Now for something totally unrelated:

I have been really grateful for this holiday season, particularly Thanksgiving. I always get excited for Christmas and it's always easy for me to get into the spirit of things. However, this year I have done A LOT of thinking about what I am grateful for. I don't know what the difference is, but I like it :). These reflections have led me to realize how blessed and loved I am. Three things I want to mention are the Savior and his Atonement. My husband, and my baby.

The Atonement: is paramount to our happiness and ability to become like our loving Heavenly Father. I am really good at being a carnal, natural woman, and am ready to be good at something else...being good. These changes I desire are all accomplished through my ability to repent. I also need a shoulder to cry on when I get fall for the umpteenth time and get frustrated. Dave is a wonderful physical shoulder, but my soul is comforted when I turn to the true source. I truly never feel all alone.

My husband: what an incredible person. I have never met someone so naturally good and loving. I affectionately refer to him as Mr. Service that name is more appropriate than most of you will ever know. Here is the best part about Mr. Services service; he loves doing it! He never has selfish intentions. Dave is humble. Dave has perfect integrity. He is gentle, smart, hilarious, handsome, kind, athletic, respectful, genuine, easy going, and a hard worker. The list goes on but I will spare him. I often feel bad for Dave I genuinely feel like I married up and he got the short end of the stick.

My baby: Carson is a very sweet little soul. I didn't know what to expect out of motherhood, but I sure didn't expect to be blessed with such a strong, wonderful spirit. Carson has great things in store for him. He is teaching me everything I need to learn. I have been rather teary lately as I think about him and watch him grow; I never realized how tender my feelings could be. I have been kind of baby hungry again lately (no, I am not pregnant), but these feeling help me appreciate Carson all the more. Having him in my life is a bigger blessing that I ever hoped for even with a housefull.

Thanksgiving: A Story of the Crockett Dinner

It was a beautiful evening on Thanksgiving Day at the Preece home. Hundreds have come from miles around to join in this feast of feasts.

Dad set the table, carefully caressing each piece of china or silverware, and wiping away all waterspots from the Arby's wine glasses. Barb cheered him on. "Matt, Jeff! Come help me set the table," Dad cried.

Matt and Jeff were busy reminiscing of the good old days when Matt would rub his younger brothers noses in the carpet. David, fortunately, has not arrived.

"What just happened?"

Meanwhile, Barb stopped cheering for Dad and went to help Mom and Becky in the kitchen. Mom wasn't expecting the the acid flour that Barb would spit on her face. "It stings! It stings!"

No one saw Kimi slipping her dance potion into the drinks under the table. "Ha Ha Ha, they will all dance!"

The kids played dangerously on the trampoline while they waited for dinner. Sydney can't quite get on the tramp to play with the others.

At long last, dinner was ready.

Tyler, who was sitting at the kids table asked, "Grandma, can I sit next to David at the big table?"


"Never mind Grandma."

The table was ready and so was the food. "Let's all go around the table now and say what we are thankful for," Dad suggested. "I'll start."

I'm thankful for DI and Ebay.
Dude, I'm totally thankful for Audi's and sleeping pills.

I'm thankful for Lord of the Rings so I can look like Orcs.

Aha, I'm thankful for my camera, and my stretchy face skin, and uuuh, I'm thankful for grips and having gymnastics moves named after me, aha.

I'm thankful I get to go to work while every other normal person is sleeping, and the dangerous people are out and about.
I'm thankful for my the toll my five kids have taken on my neck.
I'm thankful for sports.

I'm thankful for how cool I am, and how I am taller than you.

Um, I'm like grateful that boys put their hearts like on a silver platter for me.

I'm grateful for the Wii and my sisters, whom I control.

I'm grateful for pregnancy pants and unisom.

I'm grateful for arm wrestling.

Well it just so happens that I am grateful for everything in the world.

I'm grateful for the closet where we keep all of our scented wax. What a high!

I'm grateful for dancing and sour candies!

I'm grateful for when I get to play Hand and Foot at my In-laws.

I'm grateful that my son ain't afraid of nutin.

Beautiful

Spoon and Ball

Here is Carson playing one of his favorite games, chasing a ball with whatever is in his hand. Notice his determined face when he first looks at the camera. He sticks his bottom lip out. Great focus. Also notice how mobile he is on his hands and knees. I am a proud papa.

Dear Makers of the Antivirus 2009

I hate your stinkin' guts...
You make me VOMIT...
You're SCUM between my toes!

Love,

Melanie

FYI the Antivirus 2009 is NOT an antivirus, it is a nasty horrible VIRUS. It pops up on your computer telling you that malicious and harmful material has been detected, so click here to install this antivirus program and it will remove everything. When you click on it, it actually releases the virus onto your computer to destroy everything. Grrrrrrr.

Feel the Beat

We have recently learned (and love) that Carson likes to dance! Once again, there is no sound on the video since it comes from our digital camera, but if you can imagine it, we were playing a rockin' Manheim Steamroller song in the background. Carson first shows you his moves, then he leads the music like he has seen the director do in Sacrament Meeting, and then he claps (Dave's hand instead of his own) because he is proud of himself. The kid is stinkin' cute!!

Pacifier Update

So that first night without his pacifier (or mouthpiece as Dave calls it...go figure), Carson SCREAMED for 50 mintutes. Nothing I did would help. The next day he screamed for 25 mintutes. Last night, it was about 15, and tonight it was only about 10, and half of that was talking to himself. Folks; WE'RE MAKING IT! I am glad to have made a break from it. I feel...liberated.

p.s. I would like to give a shout out to my sister Jenn regarding the whole skinny dipping thing in my previous post. She thinks I blame her for an "eventful" childhood, but oh contraire dear sis. Thanks to you, I had A LOT of fun growing up, and I LOVE having so many great stories to share!

I thought this was pretty cool

I saw this on someone's blog and thought it was a great idea because it was easy and fun. All you have to do is bold the things you've done, and put the other things on your list of things to do! (I don't actually plan on doing a lot of these things, but I thought I would leave the rules as they are supposed to be).
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (and Disneyworld)
8. Climbed a mountain (Timp was the biggest)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (I plan on doing this one!!)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (I had a little garden this summer. I grew tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers in the BYU Creamery buckets. I was proud of my garden)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked ( I used to want to, but my parents would have had strokes.)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (It's ok mom, I was only like 5, and Jenn made me :)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (Um, I have ridden a gondola in the Venitian in Vegas...does that count?)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (I am not even going to tell you how old I was when I figured out where Niagara Falls is)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (The big one in Vegas...it was traumatizing enough that I think I am going to count it)
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (Many many times)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (Even slept on a beach)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (it was a sport medicine, ACL prevention video. Does that count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (Funny story; one the middle schools I went to (I attended three...a different one each year) offered fun little after school activities. You signed up for them during your lunch break and it was always a mad dash because the number of slots was limited. Well, I made a break for the "Material Arts" sign up and couldn't figure out why nobody else was racing to get there...I am sure you can see where this is going. I obviously should have repeated that grade because I couldn't read. It was actually "Martial Arts". So, I never actually took the class, but I signed up for one.)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (nope, but I have eaten PLENTY)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (another one on my to do list)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (yes, grrrr...dumb story)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (only if you count fingers)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (ok, so it wasn't really published, but I wrote a great "thriller" in 5th grade called Terror Calls....I found it the other day and almost wet my pants laughing at the rockin' plot and horrendous pictures)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (thanks to sports, I've had my picture in the paper quite a bit, but the best one is where I truly look like I have a broken, dangly arm)
85. Received a speeding ticket
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person (um no, but I married Davy Crockett...)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Lived in three or more states (7 actually)

I scored a 44 out of 100...I should do this again in ten years.

Frazzled

As I sit here, my toes are curling, my blood pressure is rising, and my heart is breaking. Why? Well, I am getting rid of Carson's pacifier. We have only used it when he sleeps, and at church, but as it so happens, I can't find it right now. I was planning on taking it away the same time I wean him (in a month or so), but looks like plans are changing because I am not about to buy a new one. The poor boy is having a hard time falling asleep. I hate it when he cries, I would much rather hold him to sleep, but I don't think that would be the best thing to do. So sad.

And His First Word Is...

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..."Bonk!"






Go Figure?!

At Least He's Thinkin' About Crawling...

Carson + Leaves = Fun

I wish this video had noise, it is so cute when he starts talking at the camera. Too bad you can't hear it. I think my favorite part about it is when he shoves the leaf in his mouth.

This is my beautiful and special sister-in-law, Tine.

Tine (short for Christine), is a sparkle in the lives of all those who are blessed to know her. Recently, she has been working very hard to lose some weight so that she can feel healthy and do all the things she loves to do: play baseball, go to sporting events (her favorite is football), cheerlead, and be a good aunt to all of her neices and nephews. She has been eating healthy, and likes to exercise on her stationary bike. She called us just tonight with some exciting news. Since her last doctors visit, she has lost 6 more pounds bringing the grand total to 38 pounds! Way to go Tine! We love you!!!

What we've been up to (besides the yearbook yourself website)

We have been having a wonderful time around here and it's about time we tell you about it. I guess the best place to start would be with my new calling. I was put in as the Stake Relief Society Secretary back in August. I thought the timing was pretty ironic because Dave and I had just had a conversationa couple of weeks before that went something like this...

Me: "You know Dave, there is only one calling I would ever aspire to in the whole church"
Dave: "Really, what would that be?"
Me: "a SECRETARY! in any organization; Relief Society, Primary, anything"
Dave: "and why is that?
Me: "because I LOVE being organized, and you get to do all the stuff with the presidency, and counsel with people, but you don't have to do a lot of the really hard stuff"

Lo and behold, it happened. I have been SUPER busy and I love it. Since I have been in, we have had many training meetings, a stake enrichment activity, and a stake leadership training meeting. All of these events require hours of preparation and hard work. I feel like I have a vision of what to do and some fun ideas about what I can to do to help everything run a little smoother. This calling is everything I would have imagined and more. When people ask me now how my calling is going, I simply say, "I was made to be a secretary".

Dave has started another semester and is doing well. It is a busy one, but not super difficult. There is a lot of group work he has to do, but we still get good time together. He has class every day from 8 to 11, and then works from noon to 4. We count ourselves blessed to have everything be so steady right now. He is also the ward mission leader and choir director. It is so inspiring to watch him try so hard in everything he does.

Carson is doing really well too. Here is some GREAT news! His eye is clearing up! We made an appointment with a pediatric opthamologist to get it evaluated and then operated on. Of course, just a couple of days before the appointment, it started to look a little better, and has continued to improve ever since. I think it is still ever so slightly clogged, but not that anyone could tell except Dave and I. I am confident it will clear the rest of the way on it's own. He is also FINALLY getting more teeth. He cut his 5th one today in fact. He has another that will be here shortly. I wondered if he would just have 4 teeth for forever since he has had them for a number of months.

Aside from my calling, I have enjoyed making cards, practicing the piano a little more, and starting some projects. One of them that I am super excited about is making some scrap quilts. I love to sew and quilt, and I have made a number of quilts that I really like. Because I like these quilts, I worry about them and try to keep them nice. Well my grandma has donated a bunch of flannel scraps to me and I plan to make a couple of LARGE scrap quilts out of them. That way, I can lay them on the floor, take them outside, on roadtrips, make forts out of them, wrestle on them, you get the idea, and not bat an eye. The only thing I have run into with that is the machine I was using seems to have gone belly up.

For those of you that know about my history, here is a little update on my knee. It is doing REALLY well. Of course it will never be great, but it is as good as I could hope for. Walking with a stroller every day seems to be almost as good as using a walker. It alleviates some pressure and weight. Speaking of weight, it feel GREAT fitting into my high school clothes :).

Aside from the economy, everything is fanstastic and we count ourselves to be very blessed. Thank you; all of you, for your love and friendship.

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