Holy Surprise!

Yesterday Zeb and I celebrated our 8th Anniversary! While we were out to dinner Zeb gave me the biggest surprise EVER! 

Yep, this is our new car. One that will fit all our princesses once Julia arrives in March. As we walked out of the restaurant I went to walk to our Camry and it wasn't there. I glanced around the parking lot and saw it parked in a completely different spot. I started walking towards it while asking Zeb if he moved it and his response, as he unlocked an Acura MDX was, "This is our car." I was Confused. Shocked. Floored. GIDDY!!! He got me a car? Of course squealing followed, then screaming in the car.

Needless to say, I had to turn off a part of my brain that has to do with numbers. I was fully concentrated on percentage rate, car payments, the whole nine yards. Poor Zeb was like, "How about, this is the best Anniversary present ever!" And boy was it. He had thought of everything. It's already registered, plates are coming, insurance is covered...you name it, it's done. Talk about a sweet present. I don't have to do a thing but drive it!!! 

Zeb's plan was almost spoiled when we got a letter in the mail from his professor congratulating Zeb on receiving the graduating senior scholarship. I was thinking, "Zeb didn't get that. Or did he?" I thought maybe he had a surprise up his sleeve since he didn't tell me we got it and we didn't have a car yet. The reason a car came to mind was because he looked at them daily. But it wasn't that suspicious because we were going to get one soon. He explained that the reason he didn't tell me he got the scholarship was because we ended up getting a little money in cash and he was going to surprise me and the girls for Christmas. The CRAZY thing is that he got the message from me WHILE he was in San Antonio on the way to the dealership! But he kept his cool and totally convinced me that was it. 

THEN...yes there is more. The guy at wells fargo called a few days later and told me to tell Zeb that,  "everything is set and they will see him tomorrow." I called him confused and asked him what that meant, thinking what if he really does have a surprise up his sleeve. But he said the guy was new and Zeb had been talking to a bunch of banks about consolidating our student loans. The guy didn't know we were still in school and was just jumping the gun to get us to use them. I TOTALLY bought it. Zeb is GOOD.  Again I was totally convinced there was nothing else to it. 

The car was delivered at 3:00 yesterday at the law school (after a ton of work on Zeb and the dealerships part) and 3 hours later we went to dinner. Zeb pulled off the biggest surprise EVER. It was the fourth car he had tried to buy. This particular car and year is in high demand and they sell the day they are posted on Auto Trader. The dealership didn't know this and had planned on sending the car to another dealership so they gave Zeb a good deal. A really good deal. 

So the day of our Anniversary I had NO IDEA he had bought me a car. I am so stinkin excited! Now when we drive to Utah we will have a lot more room. SWEET! 

So to my sweetheart, thank you. You are the best.  I can't believe you pulled this off. I love you, I love you, I love you. And to all the friends that knew, thanks for not spoiling it. And to Chad Workman, thanks for driving Zeb to San Antonio, not cursing me when you got a flat tire, and for bringing my new car to dinner. This was the best surprise EVER!

A little late...

When we were at Josh and Carol's for thanksgiving I took advantage of their camera and took a picture of my growing tummy. I look even more pregnant now that it has been 2 or 3 weeks since it was taken.  I can't believe I am 25 weeks already and in 3 weeks I'll be in my third trimester. Wow. A little scary.

Okay Steph, let's have it. Where is your tummy picture?

Come what may, and love it!

I absolutely love this talk by Elder Wirthlin. With him passing away it makes it all the more special that he gave it. Sometimes I feel like talks are given directly to me, this is one of those talks. 

I have really tried to be better about laughing things off and enjoying every moment in all areas of my life. Not that I'm not happy. I couldn't have a better husband, children, family or friends. I love being a mother and wife with all of my heart. I just want to reach my fullest potential in those roles. It is something I will strive for my entire life. 

Sunday afternoons are designated for quiet time in my house. Audrey naps and I usually put on a movie for Claire and Hallie so I can rest. A few weeks ago I decided that I should spend some time with the older girls. I told them I had an idea and we built a fort together. We sat inside the fort and watched a movie together with popcorn and chocolate. Isn't that a necessity? The girls absolutely loved it and I had a lot of fun with them. I just cuddled and snuggled them. Claire said, "Thanks, Mom." I asked her what for and her simple reply was, "For this." It was so precious. Then Hallie said, "I love you mom." I know I have a lot to work on as a mother but this was a special afternoon with 2 of my girls.

(Oh to have a camera to take pictures with!)

Lesson Learned

You know when they say to buy things for your food storage that you USE? Well, you should listen. I wish I had. I don't know if I can even tell you how many jars I had to throw away this past weekend because they had expired. It is so humiliating and depressing I don't even want to think about it. Maybe I will let you all guess how many jars/cans you think I had to throw away.

Why am I telling you all this? No, not so you can all gasp and think I am a total idiot (although I sure feel like one) but so that you don't make the same mistake I did. Granted, my intentions were good. Really good. Before we moved here I wanted a substantial food storage. I got things on case lot sales and even canned a ton at the cannery. The only thing I did wrong was think, "Oh, we'll eat that if we have it." Well, dozens of expired jars of applesauce, not so tasty salsa, soup, and other canned vegetables later we still haven't eaten them and they have to be thrown out.

I am sick about it. I can't believe I had all that food in my pantry and never used it. The other thing we did wrong was that we didn't unwrap the cases after we moved. We had done cellophane wrap all over them in order to get them safely here and then never unwrapped them. Somewhere in my mind I left the hall closet untouched because it was our food storage.It was stored away in my mind for a disaster.  Hello! You are supposed to rotate your food storage so this doesn't happen! Well, now I know you buy what you eat and you get a system that works to rotate the food.

Lesson learned...the hard way.

A little Trick or Treating!

Here are some overdue pictures of Claire and Audrey. Hallie was home sick watching Tinker Bell and was so sad to miss out on all the Halloween fun. :(

Someone asked if her nose was make up or real. Since she was Belle I told people she jumped in front of the Beast when the wolves came. Great story, huh?

I love this of Claire and Audrey. They have so much fun together.
I can't believe how grown up Claire is. She is so big and can't wait to have a baby sister to hold.
Audrey's cut is healing so GREAT! I can't believe it. I'll have to post pictures of what it looks like now. 

Audrey and Gabby held hands the whole night and had so much fun together. 

After we went to dinner at the Hudson's and trick or treating in their neighborhood we went home. Hallie was feeling MUCH better and wanted to put her costume on. We went to a few houses on our street and Hallie was so HAPPY! I'll have to post pics when I get them from Cindy! Man we need a camera.

Julia May

Yep. It's official. We are naming our sweet little baby Julia.  Zeb and I both love the name and I don't see us finding one we like more. I just love it.

I told you when I put my mind to something....

:)

What a Day

On Thursday after getting Claire off to school I was balancing check books and listening to Hallie and Audrey play. We were just about to run errands but the girls were chasing each other and having so much fun. Hallie was running away from Audrey and Audrey tripped and started crying. She was only a few feet away from me. I saw that she was bent over by the frame of the bed and I thought "Oh, she could totally gash her face on the frame." I turn her around to comfort her and blood is pouring out of the bridge of her nose. My fear was true. I grabbed a towel and tried to clean her up and we head to the ER. That was visit 1. 

Poor Audrey had 3 stitches in her nose since the cut was too close to her eye to do the glue. She was a trooper and was so brave. When I had to leave for x-rays she did great. They actually told me she was the best patient they had had all day. When they wrapped her up in the sheet she was great. It wasn't until the shot and stitches that the crying came. It was so sad. I sang her popcorn popping and tried to distract her. Luckily Jana came to help with Hallie so she didn't have to witness the traumatizing stitching. (Thanks for the advice on that one Ang). 2 hours later we were back at home and getting ready for nap time.

Hallie was still not feeling very good so I took just Claire to gymnastics. After dropping her off in her Halloween costume I picked up Zeb who is studying for finals. When we swung by the gym to get Claire on the way home the car battery ended up dying. Thank goodness Zeb was with me. It was a quick jump and we were on our way.

Just after dinner I got the girls ready for bed and Hallie started crying and moaning. Her tummy was making her miserable. I have never seen her like this. She wasn't throwing up, it was the other stomach problems. Anyway, it got worse and worse and Zeb and I thought I should take her to the ER. Trip number 2. 

At 9:00 we took off and the Doctor ran a bunch of tests. They gave her an IV just to get more fluids in her and did blood work. When she needed x-rays,  again I had to leave. She was about to freak out but I explained that it wasn't safe for the baby. She realized she needed to be brave and she did great. All the tests and x-ryas were normal, she just has a virus. We didn't get to leave until after 1:00 in the morning. 

After 2 visits to the ER, a dead car battery, and a husband studying over 15 hours for finals I would say my day was a little exhausting.

Nap anyone?

*The pictures are horrible since they were taken with my camera phone but my fam wanted pictures. ;)

Wow!!!

Once I get something in my head there is no stopping. I don't know why but I want this little baby named now. Sometimes wanting and getting things done is a blessing and other times it is just plain annoying. It's not like I can't wait a few months and let some names settle. Oh no, I have to do it now. I have been looking for baby names since Monday and came across names celebrities used for their kids. All I have to say is. "Wow!" I know the parents are famous but these poor kids have these names the rest of their lives! That's just sad.
Her are the ones that I was reeling over:

Fifi-Trixibelle Geldof
Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof
Little Pixie Geldof
Bluebell Madonna Haliwell
Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence
Steveanna Genevieve Jackson
Moxie Crimefighter Jillette
Speck Wildhorse Mellencamp
Tallulah Belle Willis
Diva Muffin Zappa
Calico Dashiell Cooper
Audio Science Clayton
Kal-El Coppola Cage
Arpad Flynn Alexander Busson
Zowie Bowie
Satchel Seamus Allen

Nice, huh?

And We are Having....

I first have to say, on the way to the appointment I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. I kept saying, "I really want another girl. But I really want a boy too. I want both! I don't know what I want!" 

Well, we are having a GIRL!

Yes, you read that right. We are so excited and can't wait to see her. 

In the office Zeb had the biggest grin and I was just elated. The girls are pretty excited too.

As we were walking out of the Dr's office Zeb said, "Come on ladies." Then said, "See, I have to be able to say that still!" We are so happy that she is healthy and that everything looks good. We couldn't be happier!

Now here is where we need help. After having a hard time picking a name for our third girl we are totally drawing a blank this time. Help please! What are some girl names you love?

Really?

Today we went for a family outing. We drove to Temple, ran a few errands, and were going to go to a park with trains but Audrey was too sick. Anyway, I ran inside Dollar Tree while Zeb sat in the car with the girls. They were just parked in a parking stall. As they are sitting there Zeb sees something moving out of the corner of his eye. Next thing he knows a shopping cart smashes the car.
Okay folks, we aren't talking about a cart moving a few feet and bumping our car....we are talking about a shopping cart that is at the top of a sloped parking lot that got some serious speed after moving downhill for over 30 yards and nailing our fender. Talk about a dent.


Well we have insurance so we figure they will just fix it. Well, they will, but there is a $250 deductible. Really? We have to pay two hundred and fifty bucks? I get ticked off about things like this. I could go off about so many things in this situation and I get so frustrated.
My question is this, "How how can Zeb be so calm about it and how can he say, 'Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal?"
In situations like this why can I not have a more relaxed personality? There really is nothing we can do about it so WHY DO I STILL GET SO WORKED UP???

Great News!

For those of you that have been wondering about my dad we have had the most wonderful news. They changed the diagnosis of his level 2 cancer to level 1. The Oncologists believe it will be highly treatable and he has a 70-80% chance of the cancer being put in remission for 5-8 years. He will start chemo next thursday and will finish in February. 

Just knowing we will have several more years with him has been so wonderful. It helps being so far away more bearable. Thank you or all your thoughts and prayers in our behalf.

Zeb is almost done with this quarter. He has a week and a half until finals. 

Audrey has discovered a love for writing on the walls. That's a fun hobby to experience. :) Her new phrase is "I can't, Mommy!" She is always making us laugh.

Hallie is loving school and still wishes she could go every day. She frequently cries on the days that aren't school days.

Claire is doing well in school and LOVES it. She can almost always be found with a book in her hand. She loves reading and will read to Hallie forever. 

Thank You

I just wanted to write this post to first of all thank everyone around me for the love and support you have given me. These past few days have been rough and so many of you have stepped in to comfort me and be there for me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

There will be many days that are hard and full of tears where those of you who don't know will be wondering what is wrong....much like today at church when, in the middle of YW's, I burst into tears! ;) Just a few days ago my dad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Follicular Lymphoma. This type of cancer isn't curable and we are waiting to hear a lot of details. The hardest part, next to the diagnosis, is being so far away. 

So to those of you that have been there for me, thank you. I won't be able to thank you enough. And to my family, give dad a bunch of extra hugs for me and my family. I can't wait to see you at Christmas!  

Love,

Leah

When I found out about my dad I was at the park with the girls. Obviously we needed to leave so when we got in the car I was telling the girls about everything. I was crying, Hallie was crying, and Claire was crying. Darling Audrey, not wanting to be left out, starting fake crying. So then we were laughing.  

Sweet little Hallie said to me today, "I'm sad that Grandpa is sick. But it must be really sad for Grandma."  

I love you mom and dad. 

Good Things to Know

1. If your deodorant has holes and scrapes in it your child got into it.
2. If your child has a fascination with deodorant she will put it all over her body like lotion...whether it's your husbands or yours. Such fascination gets old really fast.
3. If your child chooses to eat your deodorant she will throw up.

Audrey will not leave our deodorant alone. 9 out of 10 times if I can't find her I look in our bathroom and she is usually putting Zeb's deodorant on her legs. Honestly. Then the other night I was in the middle of making dinner and I hear her dry heaving...I run to her and there she is deodorant in hand. To the sink we go. Just the thought of her eating my deodorant about made me vomit. She is such a little stinker but man she is fun. Never a dull moment.

How cute!

Audrey loves to put on glasses, jewelry, and purses as you know. After decking herself out she sat down on the couch and I noticed she was holding a missionary pass along card. I couldn't help but laugh. Man she is cute!
Can she come into your home to share a message with you?

Who could say no to a face like this!

Zeb has been so busy with school that he tries to use every moment he can to spend time with the girls. After homework and before bishopric meetings he took the girls' princess table and chairs outside and they had oreos and milk together. I love it.
It was the best few minutes of their day!

Tell All

After telling the news of our job offer we decided, "What the heck, we might as well spill all the beans!"
We are excited to tell you we have:
....and it's been in there for over 12 weeks. Yes, you read that right. We normally spill the beans a lot sooner but decided to wait this time. We are so excited (and scared) to have our fourth baby! It will be a new adventure. We feel so blessed for so many reasons and can't wait to meet this new little one.

Love you all,
Zeb, Leah, Claire, Hallie, Audrey, and girl number 4...or is it a boy?

News

Well ladies and gentleman....we got a call last night from the law firm Zeb clerked with and.....

HE GOT AN OFFER!!!!!!

I picked him up from Bishopric meetings and when he got in the car he said, "So how about that call I got from Gary Morgan offering me a job!" I immediately started screaming. I screamed and laughed and to my surprise I didn't start crying. That came much later! 

We are ecstatic! The relief that comes from knowing we have something when we finish school is a feeling I can't get used to. It doesn't seem real. 

When Zeb applied for on campus interviews again this fall and didn't get any our friend Lacey said, "It's because he doesn't need any. He is going to get a job from that law firm in Dallas." 

As we look back over the past year it is amazing to see the path that has lead us to where we are now.

We want to thank all of you for all the prayers and thoughts on our behalf. So many of you have prayed for us and we are so grateful. Thank you so much!

My Hubby...

...does so much it is almost unreal. 

He starts his day around 4:30 or 5:00 each morning to finish reading a few cases before he leaves for school at 7:00. His classes start at 7:45 and he goes until an hour break for lunch. Only he doesn't break for an hour. He takes about 20 minutes to eat and then hits his homework so he can get as much done as he can. He goes to more class and comes home at about 4:00. After saying hi to me for about 2 and a half minutes he heads back to the office (the girls are in one room now) to study until dinner. He puts ear plugs in and I try really hard to keep the girls quiet while I make dinner. I call him for dinner about 5:30 and we spend about 15 minutes together to eat. Right after he heads back to the office for more reading. After clean-up and baths I read a few stories to the girls and it's bed time. When the girls are ready he comes in to kiss them and say family prayer. He then goes immediately back to the room to study. He usually comes out around 9 for a snack and then hits to books once more. He'll study until about 10:30 and then it's bedtime. His alarm is set for 4:30 to finish the last cases and start another day. 

What about the weekends? Well this past weekend bless his heart he set the alarm and got up at 4:30. Seriously. He wanted to spend the weekend with us so he forced himself to get up and read more cases. After about 5 hours he was done. But then an email from his professor came that said there will be extra reading. 

He uses every second he can to get his work done so he can be done at a decent hour. He works so hard to be prepared for class every day and read each case. I think in the first 2 weeks he has read 1200-1500 pages of cases. After the first week of classes Brother Romer asked him how he felt about being the Executive Secretary. Zeb didn't hesitate at all. Not one bit. He amazes  me. He will do whatever the Lord asks of him. Even though he is in his hardest quarter of law school he is committed to do what the Lord calls him to do. So Saturday night he worked on the agendas for bishopric and welfare meeting and set the alarm for 5:30. His Sundays now start at 6. Yet after his meetings he was right there waiting at the door to help me bring the girls inside for church. 

Amidst all that is going on we haven't heard back from the law firm yet. We are expecting to hear this week..next at the latest. Since it is unknown if we have an offer he applied to 5 different law firms. The outcome? Not one interview. But you know what? That didn't discourage him at all. He knows something will work out. He is amazing. I love him more than I can even express. He is such a strength to me and our family. I am so lucky. We are so lucky.

How am I holding up? Well let's say there are days I am a fun and happy mom with extra patience and have it all held together incredibly well. And then there are days I feel like the wicked witch of the West...that's the bad one, right? I try I really do. I love my girls so much and wish I had the patience of a saint. But I just take one day at a time and hope for a good day when I wake up. I love my family so much and wonder how I got such an amazing husband and wonderful children.

Glamor Shots by Leah...not to be confused with Deb.

Hallie got some make up, a boa, bracelets, a crown and more at her party yesterday. The girls were asking all day if they could put the make up on. As we were getting jammies on and I was taking their hair out I thought it would be funny to see how poofy we could get their hair. Claire announced, "I look like George Washington." We were laughing so hard I had tears.
I finally decided to let them play with the make up and turned it into a little glamor photo shoot. It was hilarious and the girls had a blast. Probably not as fun as I had though.

"Real" School!

I remember last year when we started the joy school Hallie was extremely disappointed when she found out she wasn't going to a school like Claire. She did have a lot of fun but initially felt jipped cause it wasn't "real" school!

We had so much fun this morning getting ready for her first day. With Claire having gone to school for a few years I totally forgot to take pictures. But with me forgetting Claire's until after school and it being Hallie's first day of "real" school I took a few more! ;)

Doesn't she look so grown up? I love the pictures and what a good sport she was. When we got to the car she said, "Do I take my backpack off?" "Do I put my lunch on the ground?" She was so funny.
This was one of the conversations in the car:
"Mom I have a crush."
"Really? Who do you have a crush on?"
"I have a crush on Josh."
"Oh, Josh who?"
"Josh on High School Musical "(I think she meant Troy) Note: she has never seen the movie! ;)
"Oh you do? What does it mean to have a crush?"
"It means....I don't know what it means."
Then she said, "Mom are you going to my school?" I told her yes we were going to school. Then she calmly told me it wasn't the way to her school.

After getting to school (it turns out I did know the way!) her teacher Mrs. Annette had a project for them to start on. I was totally worried that Hallie was going to be sad and clingy and that she would cry. Much to my surprise she sat right down and started coloring. Audrey and I gave her kisses and said goodbye and she was as happy as a clam. As I left I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes. She is a big girl. And a sweet one at that! I love you, Hallie!

Off to School

You are thinking one of two things:

1. When did Leah start baking? OR

2. What a cool mom to make those awesome cupcakes for the girls...slate, chalk and all.

Well, unfortunately neither are true. I wish I could claim I am that creative when it comes to the kitchen but I can't. I just have awesome friends. My sweet friend Cindy came over the night before school to wish the girls luck and give them a treat. How sweet is that? The girls LOVED them and got busy eating...not before I took a picture, of course!

I talked to Jana during the day and she asked if I got some cute pictures of Claire on her first day. My reply? "Oh no, I didn't take any pictures." I am a on a roll, right? Anyway, I took some as she came off the bus. Second best I guess. :)

Claire had a great first day. She told me she got to see her K teacher in the halls and wave. She also said she got lots of compliments from her teacher. She was complimented in front of the class for cleaning up her work before circle time and throughout the day. I am excited her teacher is so positive. We had a little problem when she left her lunch on the front seat and I noticed before I got home. I realized it and turned around. I took it to her class with Hallie and Audrey and Claire looked up with big alligator tears in her eyes. She had been very concerned. Claire came over and gave me, Hallie, and Audrey big hugs and kisses. It was precious. She quickly wiped her eyes before any tears spilled over. She is so sweet!

After school her and Hallie played wonderfully. They are back to how they usually play together. It's like they savor the time the get to play so they are much more pleasant. Man the last few weeks have been ROUGH for those two.

I will be posting again since Hallie's first day is tomorrow! :) Lucky you!

Sweet Audrey

I can't get over how much Audrey talks and how old she is getting. You'll have to bear with me for this post so I can tell about her and the fun things she is saying. I know my family will appreciate it!

Audrey's new things:

If I am busy she will come up to me and say my name a few times. If I don't answer quickly (and I mean QUICKLY) she will then shout, "Mom...ANSWER ME Mom!!" The first time she did it I was dying.

When something is exciting she yells, "Oh my GOSH!!!" That one gets me every time. She is WAY too young to be saying that.

She goes around the house saying who she misses. "I misses Cora." I misses Sienna." It's adorable.

If someone shuts the door and she is on the other side she will find me and cry, "Claire nock the door." What she is trying to say is, "Claire locked the door."

She loves to call from her room at bedtime to me, "Love you Mom." Night night Mom." I LOVE YOU...MOM!" One night it was so cute I answered her back from my room. Boy was that a mistake. She said it about 50 more times and would not stop!

Any insect, spider, or bug is an "itsy bitsy spider!"  She is constantly running around the house yelling, "itsy bitsy spider, Mom." itsy bitsy spider, Claire."

She has been in a hugging phase lately and will just randomly come up to me or Zeb and hug our legs. It is darling and we take as many hugs as we can get.

Her personality is so much fun. She is so intense and is starting to enter the tantrum phase. Yeah for me, right? I'm just glad she is so much fun to be around. I love you, Audrey!

I came into my room the other day with Audrey singing to the Island Princess Barbie. It was so cute I had to post it!

Stitches for the Frist Time

We have had our first experience with a child getting stitches. The "incident" happened while we were having some friends over for dinner. I heard Claire screaming and I thought that her friends had been chasing her again. Girls ALWAYS have to scream when a boy chase them...it's a rule isn't it? Anyway, I learned quickly that she was hurt and saw a big gash inside her lip. She had been playing with a pole ( a wooden dowel ) and jumped off the bed with it. She fell on it and ended up biting her lip. She didn't bite through but after a few hours the hole was very large and was soon exposed. So I told Zeb I thought I should take her to the ER.Sure enough she needed 2 stitches. Apparently if the cut is inside the mouth they don't stitch it but if you can see it on the outside they will most likely stitch it. When the nurse practitioner told Claire this she freaked out a little. After I explained that they would numb it with a shot that would sting a little and that she wouldn't feel the stitches she was better. We said a little prayer together and they came to stitch it. She was so brave and only whimpered a little after 3 shots in her lip. I probably would have cried. I am a wuss. She did so good. She even laughed after the shots were done and said, "That tickled." What a good sport.
Here she is with the cut closed up.
Just a little swollen! Not too bad. The stitches will dissolve and within a few days she should be able to eat normal things. But hey, who wouldn't want to eat popsicles and yogurt as long as they could?
She asked if she could keep her hospital bracelet to remember when she is older because in her words, "I probably won't remember when I got stitches."
I love you, Claire. Way to be brave today!

New Favorite Thing

We bought Claire, "Barbie as The Island Princess" for her Birthday. After looking at the DVD menu we found there is an "Island Karaoke Club." The girls LOVE it and after watching the movie they will sing along with the songs. Several times I have come into the room to them singing their hearts out. Claire has taken note of the singers that use vibrato and likes to match their voices. It is so CUTE!
Enjoy!

The Tipping Dilemma

Leah said that I haven't posted for a while, so I thought I would write about something which I believe warrants discussion. It seems that I see more and more establishments placing a line for a tip on their receipts. I don't have a concern about how much I should tip at a restaurant, but for those of you that don't know, the minimum (barring an asinine move on the part of your server) is 15%. However, that is definitely the minimum, where the service is a little less than mediocre. The situation that I have a hard time with is the salon. And now for a story...

Two weeks ago I went to the salon to get my hair cut. I'll admit, it was Great Clips, but how hard is it to cut my hair. The standard cut is $12.00, but in all honesty it's worth a little less than that. So this woman starts cutting my hair and half way through the cut asks if I want to keep my side burns. For those of you that know me well, you know that it's genetically impossible for me to grow facial hair (with the exception of a sweet Mexi-stache). So naturally I want to preserve any sign of what might be considered facial hair, which includes side burns. So I told the lady to leave the burns. After considerable instructing on my part the haircut was coming to an end and sure enough the clippers take a nose dive for the side burns and "zip", the right side is gone. My first question is who would intentionally make their hair look like that. It is so WT. Of course I can't have the right side burn gone and leave the left, so I just keep my mouth shut. So as I'm sitting there wondering if I had been misunderstood when I said, "I'd like you to leave my side burns," the clippers take a bizarre arching angle towards my face. With the left hand the stylist flips her comb into my right eyebrow and with the right hand continues the ominous arc. Sure enough, "zip" she trims my eyebrow. I know that this is a family site, but who in the H#*! trims a man's eyebrows without even asking? I didn't know what to do. And of course at this point she has to do the other side or it will look stupid. Honestly, what do you say to that? Seriously, these stylists have complete power over us once we're in the chair. They could hold us hostage in those chairs if they wanted to.
Stylist: "Hold still and give me all your money or I'll knick the crap out of the side of your head." So you give them all your money and then they take your sideburns and eyebrows, but your just happy to get out of there with your life and a little hair left. And then you have to walk to register with that person where they guilt you into giving them a tip.

What do you do? You know that these places are sweat shops where the owner rents a cutting station out to the stylist. In order to pay the rent the stylist has to hold over 200 people hostage each day. Not to mention the fact that while your being held hostage the stylist is bearing her soul to you. "I have twenty children and I'm a single mom. My husband died of a horrible disease that he contracted while helping starving children in Ethiopia."

So there you are with the pen poised to fill out the tip amount and everyone in the salon is waiting for the reaction of the stylist. If the tip is too low the stylist will refuse to make eye contact, which is a signal to all the other stylists to give you the evil eye as you walk from the store. On the other hand, if you leave a good tip, the stylist gives you a coy smile and thanks you for falling prey to her sinister plan. After which you feel like a total yuppy and you have to walk from the building with your tail between your legs.

So my question is, how much do you tip someone that has held you hostage? Should there really even be any tip line on these receipts?

For those of you who don't think my concerns are valid, here is a pitiful picture of me trying to be optimistic after my last haircut.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this blog are purely that of the author. The author does not truly believe that all stylists are terrorists so please do not take offense. By reading this blog you consent to refrain from being offended by the comments made in this post, regardless of whether you, or someone you know is a stylist. Photos may be slightly altered for effect.

Party Time

I forgot to post the pictures of Claire's Brithday Party at Peter Piper Pizza. She had a great time and it was really nice to have it somewhere else. No clean up! Very nice...I recommend it.Here is the crew. Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate.


We went with princess cupcakes which were a big hit.


Cora, Maren, and Jess came down from Denton. The girls had SO much fun. Maren had a LOT of fun sticking her fingers in the icing on all the cupcakes (not all but at least 3 or 4!!). It was hilarious!



This is Claire opening her gift from Benjamin White. Sidenote: Rachel said when she took him shopping he was VERY generous in picking out her gift. A little too generous so she supposedly had to take it down a notch. So funny. Anyway, he got her a polly pocket pack with a horse, van, and lots of accessories. I'd like to know what he had picked out before cause this was one sweet present. You can tell how stoked she was. Thanks Ben!


After the party Zeb and I decided to start a new tradition where the birthday person gets to choose a place to eat out. One guess where Claire wanted to go...

It's Swimming Time!

The ward party was tonight at the Waco Water Park. We haven't been to it yet so we have been excited all week. The party didn't start until 7:30 so it got dark and windy pretty quickly. That didn't stop the girls from having a blast though. They went down this slide over and over...and over. (sorry for the bad picture)


Audrey loved crawling through the little tunnel.

Once it was time to go the girls were very cold. Audrey sat and cuddled with Claire and Claire ate up every second. She LOVES holding Audrey and is constantly sad when Audrey won't have it. She is such a little mother it makes me smile. Often times Claire will wake up, get Audrey out of her crib, turn on cartoons, and get them all breakfast (cereal without milk just in case there is a spill) and lets me and Zeb stay in bed. Man she is sweet.
I Love my girls!!!

I remember another funny thing Audrey did the other day..at my expense.
Lately Zeb and I have been going biking in the mornings. He takes the older two in the bike trailer and I take Audrey on the infant seat attached to my bike. Audrey LOVES it. A few days ago Audrey decided she wanted to see what was in my pants so she proceeds to not only pull my shorts towards her but my underwear too. So there I was with no hands to do anything about it and Audrey is lookin away. The girls, and Zeb and I, were laughing pretty hard. Finally I tucked my shirt into my underwear and that seemed to stop the little rascal!

Goofy, Goofy Girls.

When we had company over the other night the girls came out sporting these pull ups on their heads. They had us rolling we were laughing so hard. 

Here are some other funny things the girls have done/said lately:

Hallie: "They said a customer word" Claire corrects her saying, "It's called a cuss word."

When we were going into the bathroom at the church Hallie says to me, "There is the boys men and here is the girls men" I have no idea how she forgot men and women.

Audrey is found crawling around sticking her tongue out and "licking" the air while panting on a regular basis. She is a kitty cat.

I can't remember what Claire did that had me laughing. Oh well. I'll remember later.

Spiderman Action!

When we were in Utah we got together with Jen and let the kids play a lot. Even though she has all boys our kids still love to play together. I think Ethan even referred to Claire as his girlfriend at one time...but don't tell Ethan I told you! :) 

Since the girls always dress up in skirts, princess dresses and jewelry this spiderman costume was so fun to see Claire in. I love Claire and Ethan in this picture. Who would have known my girlie girls had it in them?

We are happy to announce that Zeb got the job at Gold's and is not a loser!!!

It will be good for him and we will get a little money, which is definitely a bonus. SOME is better than NONE! He'll probably start sometime next week.

Way to go, babe! :)

Movie for Ethan

We just looked on Abe's blog (Zeb's older brother) and found out they are expecting their second child. We are so excited for them.
The girls loved watching the video of big brother Ethan announcing the baby. The girls wanted to do a video back to say congratulations (and no, it is not to announce anything on our end..why is that always the next question the family asks?). :)
We love you guys!



Zeb interviewed at Gold's Gym today for a summer job. We hear back tomorrow. In Zeb's words, "If I don't get it I'm a loser." We'll keep you posted.

On another note, I realize that there aren't any pictures on our post about Utah with the Fish side of the family. Carol will not let me live that down. Unfortunately I would either forget my camera (as I did in Vegas), have dead batteries, or completely forget to take pictures. While I was in Vegas the three days before we left Zeb was with the girls and guys don't really shoot pictures unless us wives force them to. Although he did take the picture of the girls in their new sunglasses on his own accord. Anyway, sorry Fish Family for being a loser and not having any pictures of you while we were there. I'll make up for it somehow!
Miss you already...

Ward Party In Dallas

While we were in Dallas we went to one of the ward parties. Let me just first say that the ward was small but very kind and welcoming.
They had the party at a families house in the ward. This house was huge. The pool bathroom had a HEATED toilet and a button to flush yourself as well as dry yourself off. Seriously. It was the fishy bathroom (fitting for us) that honestly had little turtles and fish in the tiles in the sink. I can't imagine how many rooms there were in this house but it was amazing. The party was a pool party and this was the slide in their backyard.
Is that cool or what? Claire and Hallie had a blast going down the slide.
This is one of the wings of the house. As you can see they have a flat screen TV as their patio television...OUTSIDE!
This is their formal dining room. Click to enlarge it and see all the candy. That is my kind of food!
The owners were the sweetest people and made us feel right at home. We had a great time. It was fun to experience something like that. Wow.