In the spirit of Dad's weekly cartoons, I thought this week rather than have Gwen dictate a letter I would catch you guys up on some of the funny things she's said lately. Some of these some of you may have heard but at least now they're recorded. What the heck, if you like 'em, vote for your favorite--she's a sweetheart!!
1) Gwen is getting really good at spelling, although she only knows how to spell the way she is learning how to read, where the long vowels are written with a line over them. Well, yesterday I asked her to spell "happy" on the fridge while I was doing the dishes and she sounded out "H", "A", "P", and then she thought for a minute. Finally she put down an "E" and said, "maybe we can use this 'L' to help us..." She took the small 'l' (just a line) and put it on sideways on top of the "E" to complete the word.
2) Gwen has made lots of friends everywhere she has lived and some of them are bound to have popular names. She commented today: "There's only three kinds of Anna's--the Utah kind, the suv kind, and the Texas kind." "What is the 'suv' kind?" "You know--Savannah."
3) Gwen is still learning to be reverent during prayers but she's working hard and doing her best. The other day she announced to Kristi: "I'm folding my arms. I'm closing my eyes. I'm kneelin' and I'm feelin' the spirit. I'm kneelin' and I'm feelin'. I'm kneelin' and I'm feelin' and I'm chillin'. But what does chillin' even mean?"
4) Some things don't make Gwen very happy--among the things that have brought her to long extended tears lately: When Erin said Gwen's bracelet looked like it could be Lucy's (her tiny younger sister's) bracelet. When we said the prayer as she threw this fit and didn't pray that she could get feeling better. Her dreams about dragons and bats. When mommy and daddy watch scary movies. When she gets out of the bath and her hair is black instead of yellow.
Okay, I know there's a lot more I can't think of. I had five or six in my mind tonight but of course they all slip away now that I sit down to write. Anyway, we'll post more as they come to us but for now, there's your weekly edition of Gwen Being Gwen!
P.S. Happy anniversary to Nick and Stef! A whole year under your belts already! Congrats from all of us in Texas (and I mean everybody in the whole entire state...)!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
I'm coming back home...(Michael Buble Lyrics)
Hello My Wonderful Family!
For those of you who might've thought I dropped off the earth because I have not written in so long, I want you to know that I am still alive and happy. I am currently sitting in the UVU Bookstore on a Saturday morning, I am working Customer Service and because of that I have a lot of down time (and a computer) so what better thing for me to do than post a letter. First of all I want to say how excited I am to be going home to live for the next four months as soon as I leave work today. It really is such a strange thought to think that I have only lived here in Provo for like 8 months. I feel like I have been here forever! I am so excited to go home and live the luxury of a clean house, delicious home made meals (And Moms cooking is even better than a restuarant), wonderful "roomates" or family members, and best of all NO SCHOOL! And yet with all this excitement, it is still so hard for me to leave Provo and everything I have been doing for the past 8 months. I love my job and the people I work with, I love the things that I have learned from all my room mates (and I even love my room mates most of the time:), I love all the people I get to meet from all over the world (literally), I love how much I have learned and the fun that I have had, and...(I am sure you have all been waiting to hear it) I love being independent! Now that is not to say that I have not depended upon Mom and Dad and the rest of the family for so many things this year...I just love knowing that everything I do is done because I want to do it. And I love doing things on my very own time. Gratefully I have been raised in a way that has given me the desire to want good and rightous things. I have just learned more in this past 8 months than I swear like the rest of my life, and for that I am grateful. I am so grateful that Mom and Max were willing to come help me move out yesterday and I am also grateful to Nick and Stef who let me sleep at their apartment last night and hang out with them so that I did not have to sleep at my apartment alone. I was hoping Stef would go into labor while I was there because that would just be exciting...but no go! :) It is so hard for me to say good bye's...I am so weird because I love change and learning new things and meeting new people...but I hate saying good bye. I went to all of my good friends houses last night to say good bye and let's just say I got more hugs than desired..oh well. It was especially hard saying good bye to the roomies. I just am so grateful for the knowledge I have that if we all live good we can all have one big party in heaven and never have to say good bye to anyone we love again! Anyways my life has been so good. I am so grateful that I am at UVU learning, I know that Heavenly Father is aware of my wants and needs because I truely believe that I needed to go to UVU to decide to go into Social Work because BYU recently cancelled their program. I am grateful for the gospel and the peace it brings to my life. Life is so good!
Ok that turned into a testimony or somethings. Sorry about that. I just had to share how I am feeling at this time in my life. I will send a more exciting letter soon...
Love you all,
Rosey
For those of you who might've thought I dropped off the earth because I have not written in so long, I want you to know that I am still alive and happy. I am currently sitting in the UVU Bookstore on a Saturday morning, I am working Customer Service and because of that I have a lot of down time (and a computer) so what better thing for me to do than post a letter. First of all I want to say how excited I am to be going home to live for the next four months as soon as I leave work today. It really is such a strange thought to think that I have only lived here in Provo for like 8 months. I feel like I have been here forever! I am so excited to go home and live the luxury of a clean house, delicious home made meals (And Moms cooking is even better than a restuarant), wonderful "roomates" or family members, and best of all NO SCHOOL! And yet with all this excitement, it is still so hard for me to leave Provo and everything I have been doing for the past 8 months. I love my job and the people I work with, I love the things that I have learned from all my room mates (and I even love my room mates most of the time:), I love all the people I get to meet from all over the world (literally), I love how much I have learned and the fun that I have had, and...(I am sure you have all been waiting to hear it) I love being independent! Now that is not to say that I have not depended upon Mom and Dad and the rest of the family for so many things this year...I just love knowing that everything I do is done because I want to do it. And I love doing things on my very own time. Gratefully I have been raised in a way that has given me the desire to want good and rightous things. I have just learned more in this past 8 months than I swear like the rest of my life, and for that I am grateful. I am so grateful that Mom and Max were willing to come help me move out yesterday and I am also grateful to Nick and Stef who let me sleep at their apartment last night and hang out with them so that I did not have to sleep at my apartment alone. I was hoping Stef would go into labor while I was there because that would just be exciting...but no go! :) It is so hard for me to say good bye's...I am so weird because I love change and learning new things and meeting new people...but I hate saying good bye. I went to all of my good friends houses last night to say good bye and let's just say I got more hugs than desired..oh well. It was especially hard saying good bye to the roomies. I just am so grateful for the knowledge I have that if we all live good we can all have one big party in heaven and never have to say good bye to anyone we love again! Anyways my life has been so good. I am so grateful that I am at UVU learning, I know that Heavenly Father is aware of my wants and needs because I truely believe that I needed to go to UVU to decide to go into Social Work because BYU recently cancelled their program. I am grateful for the gospel and the peace it brings to my life. Life is so good!
Ok that turned into a testimony or somethings. Sorry about that. I just had to share how I am feeling at this time in my life. I will send a more exciting letter soon...
Love you all,
Rosey
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
A Shorter Post
Hi Fam, Just a quick recap of the week since leaving Texas. I spent it preparing a talk and sharing time. Both went well. We had a wedding shower on Saturday at Aunt Sherrie's for Karen Schneiter given by all the aunts. I was in charge of the main dish and fried won tons until our whole house smelled. There is a reason I don't make that salad too often. Rosey tried to pull a fast one with her gift to Karen. She put the nursing pads that were sitting on the laundry room table for Stef from Kristi in a gift bag and brought them to the shower for Karen. Silly Rosey!! Don't worry, we got them back but unfortunately Stef no longer can act surprised on her birthday. You can fake it Stef!
Sunday we went to grandma Bassetts for dinner with Jann and Liz and all the other Utah Bassetts and that was a fun time. Bob had his new friend Ashleigh there and we all had some good laughs over dinner. We gathered in the living room for a program. Grandma played her accordian and then Max played his Bumble Boogie. You would have all been proud of little brother!!
Last night we had Jann, grandma, Jeannie, Curt and kids over for dinner and games. I made bbq sandwiches and Kristi's (Ralphie's) spinach salad which I think I ate too much of because I woke up in the middle of the night with a stomachache. I don't think I have the salad knack like Kristi.
We are so excited for baby boy Bassett to come into the world. I find myself thinking about Stef all the time!! I think grandpa Winder and grandpa Bassett (and Stef's grandpa's too) are giving lots of last minute advice up in Heaven. Also, we are looking forward to Stef's graduation on Friday and are soooooooooooooooooooooooo proud of her. Way to go Stef. We love you. Love you all.
Sunday we went to grandma Bassetts for dinner with Jann and Liz and all the other Utah Bassetts and that was a fun time. Bob had his new friend Ashleigh there and we all had some good laughs over dinner. We gathered in the living room for a program. Grandma played her accordian and then Max played his Bumble Boogie. You would have all been proud of little brother!!
Last night we had Jann, grandma, Jeannie, Curt and kids over for dinner and games. I made bbq sandwiches and Kristi's (Ralphie's) spinach salad which I think I ate too much of because I woke up in the middle of the night with a stomachache. I don't think I have the salad knack like Kristi.
We are so excited for baby boy Bassett to come into the world. I find myself thinking about Stef all the time!! I think grandpa Winder and grandpa Bassett (and Stef's grandpa's too) are giving lots of last minute advice up in Heaven. Also, we are looking forward to Stef's graduation on Friday and are soooooooooooooooooooooooo proud of her. Way to go Stef. We love you. Love you all.
Monday, April 21, 2008
A Short Post
I don't know what I'm going to say yet, but I'm going to make a short post. I need to break the ice because every time I sit down to write it just seems overwhelming because I have so much to say and don't know where to start. But now I made a rule that I can't read ahead (and I see some good ones that I haven't gotten to yet, Mom's talk, Rick Bass stories, a letter from just about everybody) until I write so I'm finally doing it.
We had a fun weekend. I felt lucky to even get a weekend with how busy I've been at work lately. Kristi bought a bunch of inflatable water toys last week so Saturday we finally got to use them. We filled up a little pool in the front yard (the back yard has no hose because the dogs chewed it up...) and we turned on a little sprinkler hose thing (like a hose with holes in it). Gwen didn't like the sprinkler at all but she loved sitting in that pool. We even let little Bentley sit in the pool in his diaper and he had pretty fun too (although he got sunburned again). What Gwen didn't like was when Kris and I broke into a spontaneous water fight. I splashed Kris then she got me with a cup. Then I went to make it even but I couldn't get near the water because every time I did she got me with the cup again. Then I tried to get the hose but she just stepped on it and then kinked it which I think ruins it (it's a brand new hose) but she doesn't care. So I gave up on that and meanwhile she continued getting me with the cup so finally I just charged her, took a cup full on my way, and picked her up and went and dropped her in the pool. This was followed by us both standing there splashing eachother with our arms and eventually I got over to the hose but she picked up Bentley and the video camera to protect herself.
Anyway, it was one of the most fun, flirty things we've done in a long time but it made Gwen really nervous. Of course her dismay with the water fight was nothing compared to how she felt about getting out of the pool later. (Yeah, she was sad...)
Later in the day I finally got to go spend the bonus I got a couple months ago (or at least most of it). I bought something I've been wanting for awhile but Kristi has never wanted--a brand new, big BBQ grill. It was really fun, I took Gwen with me to pick it out at the store and then she handed me what I needed (the screws and nuts were labeled with letters so I would say "I need a H, a G, and a B and she would get them for me while I could keep working) and stuck with me the entire 2.5 hours that it took to put the dang thing together! Now I'm not proud of that because it says to plan on 1 hour so I don't know what they're thinking but I guess I'm at least a little slow. Anyway, it is together now and we've already had delicious steaks, garlic smoked sausage, and we had friends over who cooked pork chops. So that's our fun new purchase.
Okay I know it's not that short anymore but I guess I also better tell about how I did the music for primary yesterday. Ralphie was out of town so she asked me to do it and I am a nice guy and kind of a sucker so I said yes. She was very well organized and had lots of great plans and games and visual aides so preparation-wise it was a cinch. I got a little nervous but I thought, ah, what the heck, I'll just go try to be myself and have fun with it. And that's exactly what I did, at least for Junior Primary. For Junior I could look at sweet Gwen, singing her best, and I knew half the kids because we taught for so long in there. Nearly all of the Junior Primary teachers are women so the kids didn't intimidate me and the leaders were all smiles--beaming at how "cute" it was for me to go up there and have fun with the kids and wishing their husbands would be willing to do stuff this sweet. Kristi was in the hall after Junior Primary and said it was practically all anyone was talking about, how good I did and how cute I was up there.
Then came Senior Primary.
The kids are older. Cooler. Surprisingly more intimidating. And what was worse, nearly all the leaders now were men. My friends, some of them, and older, cooler superiors others. They were not all smiles, nor did they beam. More like, stared at the ground. I started into routine and didn't make eye contact with any of them. The looked up and down the row of their students, trying to occupy themselves out of the awkwardness. They stared at their shoes, saying to themsleves, surely--what is this guy thinking? Does he not have a shred of dignity or self-respect? I sang the Hello welcome song, the birthday song. I played a game where I had to wear a lime green Dr. Seuss hat because they sang so loud. It was still fun but I felt much more self conscious. Anyway, I wasn't the talk of the town after Senior Primary. Mostly I think people just felt bad for me. I got one compliment from one of the male teachers--"Wow, good for you for doing that. Man... haha, they'd never get me up there..." Yeah, that's the nice guy that I am :-)
Well, it's good to break my silence. I'll run now since I promised this would be short but I want to say how happy I am to see everyone posting and I want to be a part of it too. We love you guys and miss you like crazy!
We had a fun weekend. I felt lucky to even get a weekend with how busy I've been at work lately. Kristi bought a bunch of inflatable water toys last week so Saturday we finally got to use them. We filled up a little pool in the front yard (the back yard has no hose because the dogs chewed it up...) and we turned on a little sprinkler hose thing (like a hose with holes in it). Gwen didn't like the sprinkler at all but she loved sitting in that pool. We even let little Bentley sit in the pool in his diaper and he had pretty fun too (although he got sunburned again). What Gwen didn't like was when Kris and I broke into a spontaneous water fight. I splashed Kris then she got me with a cup. Then I went to make it even but I couldn't get near the water because every time I did she got me with the cup again. Then I tried to get the hose but she just stepped on it and then kinked it which I think ruins it (it's a brand new hose) but she doesn't care. So I gave up on that and meanwhile she continued getting me with the cup so finally I just charged her, took a cup full on my way, and picked her up and went and dropped her in the pool. This was followed by us both standing there splashing eachother with our arms and eventually I got over to the hose but she picked up Bentley and the video camera to protect herself.
Anyway, it was one of the most fun, flirty things we've done in a long time but it made Gwen really nervous. Of course her dismay with the water fight was nothing compared to how she felt about getting out of the pool later. (Yeah, she was sad...)
Later in the day I finally got to go spend the bonus I got a couple months ago (or at least most of it). I bought something I've been wanting for awhile but Kristi has never wanted--a brand new, big BBQ grill. It was really fun, I took Gwen with me to pick it out at the store and then she handed me what I needed (the screws and nuts were labeled with letters so I would say "I need a H, a G, and a B and she would get them for me while I could keep working) and stuck with me the entire 2.5 hours that it took to put the dang thing together! Now I'm not proud of that because it says to plan on 1 hour so I don't know what they're thinking but I guess I'm at least a little slow. Anyway, it is together now and we've already had delicious steaks, garlic smoked sausage, and we had friends over who cooked pork chops. So that's our fun new purchase.
Okay I know it's not that short anymore but I guess I also better tell about how I did the music for primary yesterday. Ralphie was out of town so she asked me to do it and I am a nice guy and kind of a sucker so I said yes. She was very well organized and had lots of great plans and games and visual aides so preparation-wise it was a cinch. I got a little nervous but I thought, ah, what the heck, I'll just go try to be myself and have fun with it. And that's exactly what I did, at least for Junior Primary. For Junior I could look at sweet Gwen, singing her best, and I knew half the kids because we taught for so long in there. Nearly all of the Junior Primary teachers are women so the kids didn't intimidate me and the leaders were all smiles--beaming at how "cute" it was for me to go up there and have fun with the kids and wishing their husbands would be willing to do stuff this sweet. Kristi was in the hall after Junior Primary and said it was practically all anyone was talking about, how good I did and how cute I was up there.
Then came Senior Primary.
The kids are older. Cooler. Surprisingly more intimidating. And what was worse, nearly all the leaders now were men. My friends, some of them, and older, cooler superiors others. They were not all smiles, nor did they beam. More like, stared at the ground. I started into routine and didn't make eye contact with any of them. The looked up and down the row of their students, trying to occupy themselves out of the awkwardness. They stared at their shoes, saying to themsleves, surely--what is this guy thinking? Does he not have a shred of dignity or self-respect? I sang the Hello welcome song, the birthday song. I played a game where I had to wear a lime green Dr. Seuss hat because they sang so loud. It was still fun but I felt much more self conscious. Anyway, I wasn't the talk of the town after Senior Primary. Mostly I think people just felt bad for me. I got one compliment from one of the male teachers--"Wow, good for you for doing that. Man... haha, they'd never get me up there..." Yeah, that's the nice guy that I am :-)
Well, it's good to break my silence. I'll run now since I promised this would be short but I want to say how happy I am to see everyone posting and I want to be a part of it too. We love you guys and miss you like crazy!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Max's first region dance!
Hey everyone, yesterday I had a great day. I went to the ward talent show and played my recital peice "Bumble Boogie." After that I came home and ate dinner and then me and my friends Liana, Sabrina and Elizabeth all headed over to a region dance. My first one. I kissed all the ones I danced with! JUST KIDDING!! I had a lot of fun. We have uploaded a bunch of the pictures I got at the dance over to our web album.I just thought I would share that.
Thanks, Max
http://picasaweb.google.com/bretbassett/April2008
Gwen (her title, not mine, I'm just the scribe...)
(I've wanted to do this for a long time. This is Gwen's post and I'm just writing what she tells me, possibly with my own paranthetical insertion here and there...)
I love you.
Family.
I bleed my knee.
I scrape my knee when Angela was here. I scraped it when I was trying to just run to my mom and I got hurt.
We always get stickers for good job, from our friends.
I had my mom in my dream and an adult stranger (she just woke up from a nap with a bad dream). Neither of them shared with me. They just was talking to eachother. (And after probing why this was a bad thing...) And also I dreamed about dragons and bats.
And I want to say to the family that I love Bentley. And I have some toys to share.
We stretch when we wake up. (BTW, she doesn't say more than once sentence without making sure that, for example, "does that spell 'stretch when we wake up?'", which is why this is as choppy as it is. As you know she is actually a very fluid speaker normally but she's never written a letter before :)
I like to pretend that I'm a butterfly.
I miss you family. I hope Grandma Bassett comes back sometime. I love you.
(For the finale, this is how she told me to spell all your names. She also said lots of cute things while she was spelling so I tried to include some of those too.)
Bret, Wite(with a line over it...), Bla(with a line)n, Mom, Ben ("Is it my brother or Jack's (boy down the street) brother?" Your brother. "Who that guy?") Nic ("We're writing a letter to Nick?"), Sef ("Stef is so special!"), Ja(with a line)ne(with a line, that's one of the vowels...) ("I love you Janey"), Ro(with a line)ze, Max
She really does love and miss you all like crazy and she jumps up and down every time we talk about Disneyland!
I love you.
Family.
I bleed my knee.
I scrape my knee when Angela was here. I scraped it when I was trying to just run to my mom and I got hurt.
We always get stickers for good job, from our friends.
I had my mom in my dream and an adult stranger (she just woke up from a nap with a bad dream). Neither of them shared with me. They just was talking to eachother. (And after probing why this was a bad thing...) And also I dreamed about dragons and bats.
And I want to say to the family that I love Bentley. And I have some toys to share.
We stretch when we wake up. (BTW, she doesn't say more than once sentence without making sure that, for example, "does that spell 'stretch when we wake up?'", which is why this is as choppy as it is. As you know she is actually a very fluid speaker normally but she's never written a letter before :)
I like to pretend that I'm a butterfly.
I miss you family. I hope Grandma Bassett comes back sometime. I love you.
(For the finale, this is how she told me to spell all your names. She also said lots of cute things while she was spelling so I tried to include some of those too.)
Bret, Wite(with a line over it...), Bla(with a line)n, Mom, Ben ("Is it my brother or Jack's (boy down the street) brother?" Your brother. "Who that guy?") Nic ("We're writing a letter to Nick?"), Sef ("Stef is so special!"), Ja(with a line)ne(with a line, that's one of the vowels...) ("I love you Janey"), Ro(with a line)ze, Max
She really does love and miss you all like crazy and she jumps up and down every time we talk about Disneyland!
Great talk.
Congratulations honey on a great talk. She spoke today in sacrament meeting about how the scriptures help us strengthen our family, and she used some great examples of people from the scriptures who grew closer together... Enos who went hunting and things his dad had taught him sunk deep into his heart. She told how Blaine and Kris are so faithful in their scripture study because they never know what will sink deep in their kids hearts. She talked about Jared's family who were smashed together into their little ships for nearly a year. But who praised the Lord and kept such a happy attitude all year long. She talked about how Nephi sought council from his dad even when the dad was complaining about the Lord's directions just like the rest of the family. And how his turning to his dad helped his dad repent and draw close to the spirit again. Good job honey!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Oh, There's sunshine!
Dear Family,
Let me just quickly describe my surroundings. I am sitting here in one of the courtyards at the MTC at the foot of skwa peak. It is a warm 60+ decrease outside with a nice cool breeze. We got up this morning for a 7 am final, and Stef works from 8-12 and so I made the 20 minute walk in the warm sunshine from the tanner to the MTC. I love making that walk since the entire time I have Mt Timp stairing me in the face with its beauty and splendor. I love walking past the bell tower and thinking about Mom and Dad's first kiss. It is such a blessing to be here now and for the spring time which I believe has finally now sprung.
As I sit here and read your letters I am full of gratitude for all of you! What a blessing to have a family who loves and cares for each other. I am grateful for the influence that each of you has on me, who I am, and who I am becoming. Seriously, I believe this is why the Lord organizes us into families...so that we can be a blessing and a help to each other. Above all I am grateful for Stef. She is amazing! Each day I don't think she could get any bigger...and yet she does...or I should properly say that the little boy inside her gets bigger. She is so stinkin cute I can't hardly stand it. I think she falls into the lucky group of people that from behind you can't tell they are preg, and then they turn to the side and there is no doubt they have a little baby in them. She stills works 20 hrs a week, and does amazing in school. Since I don't do so well in school, and need more time for homework, she also manages to do basically all the house jobs including washing clothes, shopping, cleaning, etc. The is wonderful.
I am in the middle of finals week and it is super busy but fun to see the end in sight. This semester has been a real toughy for me, and I hope that I pass all my classes. Whatever happens, I know that I have given it my all. Just 3 tests to go, and I can have a break for a few days until the summer term starts up.
The big news from yesterday was when Stef went in to the doctor. She found out that already (with a month to go) she is diallated to the 3, and is 60% effaced. I don't really know what that means, but the doctor was pretty pleased, and I guess that means things are looking pretty good. This news forced us to realize that before we know it we will have a third little member. Time to pack some bags, get a stroller, etc etc.
I love you all!
Nick
Let me just quickly describe my surroundings. I am sitting here in one of the courtyards at the MTC at the foot of skwa peak. It is a warm 60+ decrease outside with a nice cool breeze. We got up this morning for a 7 am final, and Stef works from 8-12 and so I made the 20 minute walk in the warm sunshine from the tanner to the MTC. I love making that walk since the entire time I have Mt Timp stairing me in the face with its beauty and splendor. I love walking past the bell tower and thinking about Mom and Dad's first kiss. It is such a blessing to be here now and for the spring time which I believe has finally now sprung.
As I sit here and read your letters I am full of gratitude for all of you! What a blessing to have a family who loves and cares for each other. I am grateful for the influence that each of you has on me, who I am, and who I am becoming. Seriously, I believe this is why the Lord organizes us into families...so that we can be a blessing and a help to each other. Above all I am grateful for Stef. She is amazing! Each day I don't think she could get any bigger...and yet she does...or I should properly say that the little boy inside her gets bigger. She is so stinkin cute I can't hardly stand it. I think she falls into the lucky group of people that from behind you can't tell they are preg, and then they turn to the side and there is no doubt they have a little baby in them. She stills works 20 hrs a week, and does amazing in school. Since I don't do so well in school, and need more time for homework, she also manages to do basically all the house jobs including washing clothes, shopping, cleaning, etc. The is wonderful.
I am in the middle of finals week and it is super busy but fun to see the end in sight. This semester has been a real toughy for me, and I hope that I pass all my classes. Whatever happens, I know that I have given it my all. Just 3 tests to go, and I can have a break for a few days until the summer term starts up.
The big news from yesterday was when Stef went in to the doctor. She found out that already (with a month to go) she is diallated to the 3, and is 60% effaced. I don't really know what that means, but the doctor was pretty pleased, and I guess that means things are looking pretty good. This news forced us to realize that before we know it we will have a third little member. Time to pack some bags, get a stroller, etc etc.
I love you all!
Nick
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Richard Bass stories
If you got away from home without hearing these stories - my apologies. There is an english teacher at BYU who studies the works of Rick Bass (alias Richard Bass) and when she heard some of these stories it was like she had hit the jackpot. For those of you who haven't heard me tell these stories, Rick was Richard in High School in Houston. He was my friend, and he made fast friends with the other momon's at Robert E Lee high school. We didn't smoke, drink, or we weren't crude. He liked how simple we were, and how much of a kick we got out of his gentle if not goofy sense of humor. He went to Utah State, and studied environmental studies. He started writing after college and the rest they say is history. He is now considered one of the pre-eminent authors of our day.
But so that you get a sense of his early years...here's a list of stories I could tell you...
Ruth Larson
- Richard liked Ruth. Every first day of the month was an "April Fool's" day, but it would be September Fool's day, October Fool's day, etc.
- He painted a parking stall in the street with Ruth's name on it so we would have a parking space since we got to school so close to starting time and all the good parking spots were gone.
- He put an empty gatorade can with the top cut out along Ruth's path to her locker. About ever 10 feet there was another gatorade can. Making about 30 can's leading from the parking lot, through the portable classrooms, in the backdoor, down the hall. When she got to her locker, she opened it, and about 30 more cans feel out onto the ground clattering.
- Once Ruth came to her locker, and all these wires were coming out of it. She wasn't sure what to do. Richard came by and told her, it might be a bomb. He happened to have a wire cutter with him. He told her he would disarm the bomb. He cut the wire, and a big fireball blew up in her locker. Flames jumped out of the slits in the locker.
- Once Ruth opened her locker to find it carpeted and pictures of the church hanging up. In the middle was a box (also carpeted) which held a copy of the Book of Mormon. All of her other books had been moved to another locker.
- Once Ruth came home and found a calf ( a little cow) in her backyard. It was eating the grass. It had a flower lei around it's neck.
- Once Richard burst into her homeroom. He was masked. Rick Black joined him and was masked as well. Richard had a knife and held it up to the teacher and the students…and said "Nobody moves, and nobody gets cut". Rick went back and led Ruth out the door. Richard had drove his jeep up to the school and loaded Ruth into it, and drove her around the block, then dropped her off again at the front door.
Funny personality
- Had kept turtles in his backyard. They not only wouldn't escape they were trained. He would call Suuuuuu-iiiiii and the turtles would come walking from their hiding places in the lawn and come for dinner. He would hand-feed them raw hamburger meat.
- Ate tons-o-burgers to beat the record at the local McDonalds
- If you ever told him that you liked something he had (or had on) without hesitating he would take it off and give it to you. And he wouldn't accept it back. We once tried to see how far he would take it, and on the way home from school, we rolled down our car window and at a stop light we asked Richard what he was listening to…he told us…and we said, "Man we like that tape" at which he immediately took it out and threw it at us. As we pulled away from the stop light, we said "Richard we like your whole set of cassettes….and immediately he took a case with some 50 tapes in it and threw it out the window. We pulled over and tried to collect all that we could, (probably about 1/2 the tapes) and tried to give it back to him…he wouldn't take it.
- Richard wanted to go to the school dance, but I told him that I couldn't because I didn't have a tie. That afternoon, a railroad tie showed up on my lawn.
Once I started writing a list of 101 creative dates you could go on. Richard really got into and came up with some of the most interesting bizarre ideas you could imagine.
- One was to have 6 guys dressed like savages come jogging down the street carrying a chair on a platform. They would arrive at the date, have the date come out and sit in the chair and then they would walk her down the street to where the date was waiting for her.
One was to have about 6 guys who would have spent $50 a piece on a date, all go in and buy a $300 junkheap of a car. And then take turns driving like madmen through secret lake until the car was so beatup it stopped working. That he claimed would have been much more fun than a date.
- He looked at me with some awe when I picked up a date, and as we walked to my car, we spotted the neighbor's corvette. I dragged her over to look at it, and then I sat in it and found the key and started it up. By this time she had left me in disgust since it appeared I was going to steal the car. I then backed out and drove away - only to pick up my bro in law who's car it was. We came back and I took my date on a drive.
Football
- Wanted to be on the football team and went to extremes to show the coach he would do anything to make the team. And that he was crazy enough to do anything on the field. Richard was small and didn't make the team - except as a manager.
- He had me take pictures of him in late december our junior year. It was freezing cold. No matter. He took off his shirt and made incredible diving shots with a football. His intention was to show the football coach how fearless he was. The pictures came out incredible. I told him I'd get a copy of the pictures for him…he was so mad at me for not giving him the pictures up front that he didn't talk to me for nearly a year
High School Homeroom
- In our biology class, we dissected cats. He would throw cat kidneys on the smokers in the smoking area below us.
- Richard was in my homeroom. He once schemed to drag me down the hallway. Rick Black kneeled down behind me, Richard pushed me over Rick and then each grabbed a leg and started to drag me, but when they headed to drag me down the stairs, I fought and got away. I was back on Richard's good side after that.
- Helped me with my scripture chase questions
Utah State
- Richard rode his bicycle from Utah State to BYU - had to change 10 flats. He walked Ruth Larson to class and then rode his bike home again.
- I woke up on a snowy morning and had the Arby's owner yelling at me telling me that they would turn me into police if I didn't go fix the sign. I didn't know what they were talking about. - I went down and fixed the sign. Later I found out Richard had been in town. He had changed the trailer sign to read "Buy Bret Bassett's Bug Burgers 25cents."
- Kenny Loggins went to Utah State for a concert. His backdrop was a living room scene with a fireplace. In mid concert, Richard dropped down the fireplace and ran off stage
But so that you get a sense of his early years...here's a list of stories I could tell you...
Ruth Larson
- Richard liked Ruth. Every first day of the month was an "April Fool's" day, but it would be September Fool's day, October Fool's day, etc.
- He painted a parking stall in the street with Ruth's name on it so we would have a parking space since we got to school so close to starting time and all the good parking spots were gone.
- He put an empty gatorade can with the top cut out along Ruth's path to her locker. About ever 10 feet there was another gatorade can. Making about 30 can's leading from the parking lot, through the portable classrooms, in the backdoor, down the hall. When she got to her locker, she opened it, and about 30 more cans feel out onto the ground clattering.
- Once Ruth came to her locker, and all these wires were coming out of it. She wasn't sure what to do. Richard came by and told her, it might be a bomb. He happened to have a wire cutter with him. He told her he would disarm the bomb. He cut the wire, and a big fireball blew up in her locker. Flames jumped out of the slits in the locker.
- Once Ruth opened her locker to find it carpeted and pictures of the church hanging up. In the middle was a box (also carpeted) which held a copy of the Book of Mormon. All of her other books had been moved to another locker.
- Once Ruth came home and found a calf ( a little cow) in her backyard. It was eating the grass. It had a flower lei around it's neck.
- Once Richard burst into her homeroom. He was masked. Rick Black joined him and was masked as well. Richard had a knife and held it up to the teacher and the students…and said "Nobody moves, and nobody gets cut". Rick went back and led Ruth out the door. Richard had drove his jeep up to the school and loaded Ruth into it, and drove her around the block, then dropped her off again at the front door.
Funny personality
- Had kept turtles in his backyard. They not only wouldn't escape they were trained. He would call Suuuuuu-iiiiii and the turtles would come walking from their hiding places in the lawn and come for dinner. He would hand-feed them raw hamburger meat.
- Ate tons-o-burgers to beat the record at the local McDonalds
- If you ever told him that you liked something he had (or had on) without hesitating he would take it off and give it to you. And he wouldn't accept it back. We once tried to see how far he would take it, and on the way home from school, we rolled down our car window and at a stop light we asked Richard what he was listening to…he told us…and we said, "Man we like that tape" at which he immediately took it out and threw it at us. As we pulled away from the stop light, we said "Richard we like your whole set of cassettes….and immediately he took a case with some 50 tapes in it and threw it out the window. We pulled over and tried to collect all that we could, (probably about 1/2 the tapes) and tried to give it back to him…he wouldn't take it.
- Richard wanted to go to the school dance, but I told him that I couldn't because I didn't have a tie. That afternoon, a railroad tie showed up on my lawn.
Once I started writing a list of 101 creative dates you could go on. Richard really got into and came up with some of the most interesting bizarre ideas you could imagine.
- One was to have 6 guys dressed like savages come jogging down the street carrying a chair on a platform. They would arrive at the date, have the date come out and sit in the chair and then they would walk her down the street to where the date was waiting for her.
One was to have about 6 guys who would have spent $50 a piece on a date, all go in and buy a $300 junkheap of a car. And then take turns driving like madmen through secret lake until the car was so beatup it stopped working. That he claimed would have been much more fun than a date.
- He looked at me with some awe when I picked up a date, and as we walked to my car, we spotted the neighbor's corvette. I dragged her over to look at it, and then I sat in it and found the key and started it up. By this time she had left me in disgust since it appeared I was going to steal the car. I then backed out and drove away - only to pick up my bro in law who's car it was. We came back and I took my date on a drive.
Football
- Wanted to be on the football team and went to extremes to show the coach he would do anything to make the team. And that he was crazy enough to do anything on the field. Richard was small and didn't make the team - except as a manager.
- He had me take pictures of him in late december our junior year. It was freezing cold. No matter. He took off his shirt and made incredible diving shots with a football. His intention was to show the football coach how fearless he was. The pictures came out incredible. I told him I'd get a copy of the pictures for him…he was so mad at me for not giving him the pictures up front that he didn't talk to me for nearly a year
High School Homeroom
- In our biology class, we dissected cats. He would throw cat kidneys on the smokers in the smoking area below us.
- Richard was in my homeroom. He once schemed to drag me down the hallway. Rick Black kneeled down behind me, Richard pushed me over Rick and then each grabbed a leg and started to drag me, but when they headed to drag me down the stairs, I fought and got away. I was back on Richard's good side after that.
- Helped me with my scripture chase questions
Utah State
- Richard rode his bicycle from Utah State to BYU - had to change 10 flats. He walked Ruth Larson to class and then rode his bike home again.
- I woke up on a snowy morning and had the Arby's owner yelling at me telling me that they would turn me into police if I didn't go fix the sign. I didn't know what they were talking about. - I went down and fixed the sign. Later I found out Richard had been in town. He had changed the trailer sign to read "Buy Bret Bassett's Bug Burgers 25cents."
- Kenny Loggins went to Utah State for a concert. His backdrop was a living room scene with a fireplace. In mid concert, Richard dropped down the fireplace and ran off stage
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Jordance Festival
Hey everyone,
I just got home from a stake mutual activity. It was really, really good. It was called the Jordance Film Festival. Every ward in the stake was to make a movie about our theme this year; being steadfast and immovable. Tonight was the night we showed the movies. All the actors (me being on of them) started out in primary room and then after about 15 minutes, all the actors would walk out into the gym on a red carpet and wave to everyone who was in the chairs. Jeff Hansen (stake young mens leader) would interview a bunch of people who were walking in. All the actors would take their seat where popcorn was. We then watched all of the movies that each ward had done. The 2nd ward (our ward) was probably the shortest, but it had the most special effects. We had used a green screen and everything that Paul Nelson provided. Our movie was kind of a mix of a bunch of other movies. We would tell about a movie and some wrong choice that one of the characters made, then we would show our steadfast and immovable version of that decision, such as: Spiderman, we told about when he kissed M.J. upside down and then we showed Scooby Doo and Shaggy stop them from kissing and taught them to meet politely. We just did a couple of clips like that. Ours was about 3 minutes.
We also got to learn about our stake play this year: Joseph and the technicolored dream coat.
Anyways, I just thought it would be fun to write about that great activity we did. It was a lot of fun!
Max
I just got home from a stake mutual activity. It was really, really good. It was called the Jordance Film Festival. Every ward in the stake was to make a movie about our theme this year; being steadfast and immovable. Tonight was the night we showed the movies. All the actors (me being on of them) started out in primary room and then after about 15 minutes, all the actors would walk out into the gym on a red carpet and wave to everyone who was in the chairs. Jeff Hansen (stake young mens leader) would interview a bunch of people who were walking in. All the actors would take their seat where popcorn was. We then watched all of the movies that each ward had done. The 2nd ward (our ward) was probably the shortest, but it had the most special effects. We had used a green screen and everything that Paul Nelson provided. Our movie was kind of a mix of a bunch of other movies. We would tell about a movie and some wrong choice that one of the characters made, then we would show our steadfast and immovable version of that decision, such as: Spiderman, we told about when he kissed M.J. upside down and then we showed Scooby Doo and Shaggy stop them from kissing and taught them to meet politely. We just did a couple of clips like that. Ours was about 3 minutes.
We also got to learn about our stake play this year: Joseph and the technicolored dream coat.
Anyways, I just thought it would be fun to write about that great activity we did. It was a lot of fun!
Max
Yummy
You know what's really good? Vanilla ice cream with pretzels. I'm not kidding. Get your ice cream, put on some pretzels, smoosh them up. It's awesome.
Monday, April 14, 2008
TEXAS
I want to go to Texas! It looks like ya'll had so much fun! Gwen and Ben are getting way to big way to fast! Why do we have to be grown up and have jobs and pay bills? I just want to be a kid forever! Okay, okay, I guess there are a few perks to being grown up, but sometimes I just wish I would have enjoyed being a kid a little bit more. I guess that is what I am trying to do now, living at home. After you live away, it makes you realized how much you love your parents...and I do! Having Mom gone for a week made me realize even more how much I love and appreciate her! And, although everyday I wish I could just find "the one" and start my own little family and have my own little Gwen's and Ben's running around, there are things that I am enjoying being single and free. The one major example I can think of is shopping. I went shopping by myself in Park City for a long time last Thursday. As I was sitting in one of the dressing room's I could hear a little baby cry. The mom was trying to sooth her baby by saying, "I know you are so hungry, I'll feed you in just a minute, let me just finish this." Meanwhile, quickly trying on article of clothing after article of clothing was me, happy as could be, not a care in the world....okay, that last part was false, I do have stress and worries. Okay, enough about how I am doing my best to find the positive in being single. :)
As you have read from other people, it has been party-hardy week for all of us here at the Bassett Homestead. Movie after movie (which I know you don't all love to do, but I have realized I take after my Dad...I love watching movies,) meal after meal, choc milk and A&W Rootbeer by the gallon and a new sugar cereal being added to the pantry everytime I open it. Oh boy was it a party...but I am so happy it is over with. I missed Mom so much. I was in the minority with it being 2 guy's against me! They treated me good though.
Other than that, life continues as usual. I am going to do Speech Pathology in the fall, and I still don't know where I will live. I just went to my missionary trainer's "homecoming" talk last Sunday. It was a bitter-sweet reunion.
I love you all and am so excited for the new baby to come. It is so fun to chill here at home with Chonin-lostin-chon, but it will be even more fun when Rose moves home.
Love, Jane
As you have read from other people, it has been party-hardy week for all of us here at the Bassett Homestead. Movie after movie (which I know you don't all love to do, but I have realized I take after my Dad...I love watching movies,) meal after meal, choc milk and A&W Rootbeer by the gallon and a new sugar cereal being added to the pantry everytime I open it. Oh boy was it a party...but I am so happy it is over with. I missed Mom so much. I was in the minority with it being 2 guy's against me! They treated me good though.
Other than that, life continues as usual. I am going to do Speech Pathology in the fall, and I still don't know where I will live. I just went to my missionary trainer's "homecoming" talk last Sunday. It was a bitter-sweet reunion.
I love you all and am so excited for the new baby to come. It is so fun to chill here at home with Chonin-lostin-chon, but it will be even more fun when Rose moves home.
Love, Jane
Round Rock Reunion
Dear Family,
It's been so fun to read all your letters on the BAWB. I look forward for more. It's Monday afternoon and I have the window open with a warm breeze as I write this. No kidding. It is supposed to get up to 80 today. And I thought the weather in Texas was nice! But the difference is that we go back down to the forty's again tomorrow.
But enough of the weather. I had a wonderful week in Round Rock. From the moment Kristi picked me up on Monday evening with a sleeping Gwen and a smiling Ben, to the moment I was dropped off by all four of them on Sunday afternoon, we had a great time. All day today I have sweet memories running through my mind. I can't share it all but here are just a few of my random favorite memories, not in any particular order. Some of them were HTBT (had to be there) memories!
--Joining scripture study every night in the upstairs room, followed by family prayer.
--Riding the little train at Zircher Park next to Gwen.
--Stuffing ourselves silly at CiCi's Pizza.
--Watching B&K come off the River Rio ride at Sea World soaking wet!
--Riding the big eel roller coaster twice, once with Blaine, once with Kristi.
--Making it to Sea World and seeing that they had remembered Nick's birthday with a huge sign over the entrance!
--Riding the big raft ride in the dark with Blaine and our other new dude friends.
--Shamu Show and the little girl who dreamed of being an accountant (HTBT)
--The syncronized swimmers, the divers, the dolphins!
--Listening to the amazing Gwen read.
--Listening the Kristi's report about her first Mia Maid lesson.
--Sitting between Gwen and Ben in the car and memorizing their faces.
--The day that Ben went to the eye dr. and had to wear sunglasses the rest of the day. He definitely looked liked the coolest baby on the planet.
--Doing dishes with Blaine on Sunday and talking about the Sunday School lesson.
--The abundant wild flowers, especially the blue bonnets. Watching Gwen chase butterflies through the field of blue bonnets.
--Delicious meals with wonderful flavors. Kristi is an incredible cook and really should write a salad cookbook.
--Eating oatmeal carmel chocolate bars (remember, oatmeal is healthy!)
--Visiting with Sid and Steph who were in town.
--Walking along the Brushy Trail to the park and seeing Gwen's delight when we arrived.
--Seeing Horton Hears a Who and laughing with everyone.
--Picking strawberries and eating strawberry popsicles.
--Finding Nancy's (I like to call her Nanc) roll recipe. HTBT
--Late night talks about all of you!
--Sleeping by the dogs. Hearing their clicking when Blaine let them out early every morning.
--Sleeping in.
--Running with Bentley in the jogging stroller on the famous 6-mile route.
--Walking with Gwen and Bentley and Kristi and the crazy dogs.
--Garcias fresh chips. Sonic's lime cherry drink.
--Playing sharks with Gwen and Ben and making Ben laugh with our swishing noises.
--Playing Go Fish with Gwen
**Lots and lots of hugs and kisses and feeling such a happy spirit in their clean, beautiful home.
Thanks again for such a wonderful week. You guys made me feel so welcome and loved. I don't know how we could have had a better week. It was to wonderful to me. I feel like Heavenly Father watched over all of us!
I love you all. I hope you all know it. Love, Mom
It's been so fun to read all your letters on the BAWB. I look forward for more. It's Monday afternoon and I have the window open with a warm breeze as I write this. No kidding. It is supposed to get up to 80 today. And I thought the weather in Texas was nice! But the difference is that we go back down to the forty's again tomorrow.
But enough of the weather. I had a wonderful week in Round Rock. From the moment Kristi picked me up on Monday evening with a sleeping Gwen and a smiling Ben, to the moment I was dropped off by all four of them on Sunday afternoon, we had a great time. All day today I have sweet memories running through my mind. I can't share it all but here are just a few of my random favorite memories, not in any particular order. Some of them were HTBT (had to be there) memories!
--Joining scripture study every night in the upstairs room, followed by family prayer.
--Riding the little train at Zircher Park next to Gwen.
--Stuffing ourselves silly at CiCi's Pizza.
--Watching B&K come off the River Rio ride at Sea World soaking wet!
--Riding the big eel roller coaster twice, once with Blaine, once with Kristi.
--Making it to Sea World and seeing that they had remembered Nick's birthday with a huge sign over the entrance!
--Riding the big raft ride in the dark with Blaine and our other new dude friends.
--Shamu Show and the little girl who dreamed of being an accountant (HTBT)
--The syncronized swimmers, the divers, the dolphins!
--Listening to the amazing Gwen read.
--Listening the Kristi's report about her first Mia Maid lesson.
--Sitting between Gwen and Ben in the car and memorizing their faces.
--The day that Ben went to the eye dr. and had to wear sunglasses the rest of the day. He definitely looked liked the coolest baby on the planet.
--Doing dishes with Blaine on Sunday and talking about the Sunday School lesson.
--The abundant wild flowers, especially the blue bonnets. Watching Gwen chase butterflies through the field of blue bonnets.
--Delicious meals with wonderful flavors. Kristi is an incredible cook and really should write a salad cookbook.
--Eating oatmeal carmel chocolate bars (remember, oatmeal is healthy!)
--Visiting with Sid and Steph who were in town.
--Walking along the Brushy Trail to the park and seeing Gwen's delight when we arrived.
--Seeing Horton Hears a Who and laughing with everyone.
--Picking strawberries and eating strawberry popsicles.
--Finding Nancy's (I like to call her Nanc) roll recipe. HTBT
--Late night talks about all of you!
--Sleeping by the dogs. Hearing their clicking when Blaine let them out early every morning.
--Sleeping in.
--Running with Bentley in the jogging stroller on the famous 6-mile route.
--Walking with Gwen and Bentley and Kristi and the crazy dogs.
--Garcias fresh chips. Sonic's lime cherry drink.
--Playing sharks with Gwen and Ben and making Ben laugh with our swishing noises.
--Playing Go Fish with Gwen
**Lots and lots of hugs and kisses and feeling such a happy spirit in their clean, beautiful home.
Thanks again for such a wonderful week. You guys made me feel so welcome and loved. I don't know how we could have had a better week. It was to wonderful to me. I feel like Heavenly Father watched over all of us!
I love you all. I hope you all know it. Love, Mom
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Fun Pictures in April
Check out the new pictures in the web album for April, includes pictures of Nicks birthday, Max's snow caves and his miraculous six six's roll. As well as other wonderful Bassett activities.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bretbassett/April2008
http://picasaweb.google.com/bretbassett/April2008
Dad is right
Hey everyone,
I apologize I have been so lousy at writing and after dad's threat to shut the cell phone off, I better get-a writin :). I am teasing of course. It is a beautiful sunday afternoon and I wanted to come in and write hello to everyone-cell phone or not. I have so much to say but I realize that the longer the entry...the less incentive people have to read it. I will do my best to keep it short.
I want to thank everyone for making my day so special yesterday. First of all thanks to Stef who was so fun to go on a picninc with me up rock canyon, and take me out to a show and just party hardy all day long. Next, it was so much fun to talk to mom and blaine and Kristi for a long time in the morning. That is awesome that you were able to go to sea world on my b-day. I am so happy that mom got to go and spend some time with her kids and grandkids. What a special treat for her to be able to do that. Last, thanks to Dad, Rosey, Max and Janey (Stef included here too) who took time out of their busy schedules to come celebrate my big day with me. We all met up at about 4:30 at the Rumbi Grill and had a tasty meal there. I think the winning item was Dad's pinacolada (sp?). Stef and I agreed we need to go back someday soon just for one of those drinks! Then everyone came back here for games and cake and ice cream. Nice Janey ran to the store to pick up some ice cream for the cake while me and max and rosey all played a little b-ball out on the court here. Then when Janey got back everyone sang happy b-day (it sounds especially good on your own birthday don't you agree?) and we all sat around and talked for a long time. While we were all hanging out Dad gave me one of my best presents...he fixed the piano for us. It was a simple fix (not to discredit your service dad) but was something that needed to get done and he just did it. I spent probably 30-45 minutes playing the piano this afternoon...something I haven't had the opportunity to do for a couple months. Thanks dad for that gift you gave, that you didn't even plan on giving. I received all kinds of fun and practical gifts. I got some Comet (cleaning powder), a potatoe scrubber, shaving cream, shavers for the mach3 (and we all know how overpriced those little things are), $15 subway card, season II of the cosby show (the show Stef formally announced to me that she would really enjoy sitting down to watch regularly), money, a basketball (sort of an impromtu gift from the budder--rosebudder), and a really fun watch from mom and dad. I must admit that I spent some time this afternoon figuring out how it works and it is really cool. It is a watch designed for running. It has a heart monitor, and an easy stop watch (plus all the added standard features). It saves your times, and has a little "hard drive" in it that allows you to go back and see your heart rate from previous runs etc. It also tells you the percent of you max heart rate you are exercising at. Anway, I am really excited about it, and was thrilled people remembered about how bad I have wanted a good running watch for a while. Before people took off we played some fun games. We played the game B&K gave max last year for his b-day. Then we played the dice game and then pictionary. As a result of playing the dice game, Stef and I may head down to Vegas in a couple weeks to solidify our financial status. That girl was rolling like it was her job. She seriously had some huge rolls. One time she rolled 5-1's. It was amazing. Thanks again to everyone for making it such a special day for me.
School is going pretty well, and we are close to finishing up. 2 more days of classes and then some final exams. I am really excited to get done except that 2-3 days after I finish, I start up spring term which will be 9 credit hrs in one term. That is the equivilant of about 18 credit hrs ina semester. Classes should be a little easier than this semester but tough none-the-less. Keep us in your prayers as we take finals these upcoming weeks.
Married life continues to be such a fun, rewarding blessing in our lives. We love watching our little baby kick in Stef's tummy at nights. Stef works so hard to get all the things done that she needs too: school, work, cleaning, cooking etc. I wonder what it will be like when the day finally comes that she doesn't work anymore, and she is graduated. She is going to love that!
My final comment is how grateful I am to work at the MTC. It has truly been a blessing in my life. It builds my testimony each day to be around the missionaries. Some are loving every second of the mission. Some are trying to get used to the idea of studying all day long. Some struggle with the change they are going through. Each of them has an impact on me, and has blessed my life for the good. It is such a blessing to work in a place where I have time to study and teach the gospel during the day. It strengthens my testimony to have that active gospel study each day. I hope that each of us makes sure that above all else we are taking time to strengthen and fortify our testimony. Satan is giving it his last big shot and we can tighten our armor by daily study and prayer. I know that is true.
I love you all. We are praying, dad, you can get feeling better. Thanks for coming down yesterday to party with us and organizing the shin-dig. It was great!
Love,
Nick
I apologize I have been so lousy at writing and after dad's threat to shut the cell phone off, I better get-a writin :). I am teasing of course. It is a beautiful sunday afternoon and I wanted to come in and write hello to everyone-cell phone or not. I have so much to say but I realize that the longer the entry...the less incentive people have to read it. I will do my best to keep it short.
I want to thank everyone for making my day so special yesterday. First of all thanks to Stef who was so fun to go on a picninc with me up rock canyon, and take me out to a show and just party hardy all day long. Next, it was so much fun to talk to mom and blaine and Kristi for a long time in the morning. That is awesome that you were able to go to sea world on my b-day. I am so happy that mom got to go and spend some time with her kids and grandkids. What a special treat for her to be able to do that. Last, thanks to Dad, Rosey, Max and Janey (Stef included here too) who took time out of their busy schedules to come celebrate my big day with me. We all met up at about 4:30 at the Rumbi Grill and had a tasty meal there. I think the winning item was Dad's pinacolada (sp?). Stef and I agreed we need to go back someday soon just for one of those drinks! Then everyone came back here for games and cake and ice cream. Nice Janey ran to the store to pick up some ice cream for the cake while me and max and rosey all played a little b-ball out on the court here. Then when Janey got back everyone sang happy b-day (it sounds especially good on your own birthday don't you agree?) and we all sat around and talked for a long time. While we were all hanging out Dad gave me one of my best presents...he fixed the piano for us. It was a simple fix (not to discredit your service dad) but was something that needed to get done and he just did it. I spent probably 30-45 minutes playing the piano this afternoon...something I haven't had the opportunity to do for a couple months. Thanks dad for that gift you gave, that you didn't even plan on giving. I received all kinds of fun and practical gifts. I got some Comet (cleaning powder), a potatoe scrubber, shaving cream, shavers for the mach3 (and we all know how overpriced those little things are), $15 subway card, season II of the cosby show (the show Stef formally announced to me that she would really enjoy sitting down to watch regularly), money, a basketball (sort of an impromtu gift from the budder--rosebudder), and a really fun watch from mom and dad. I must admit that I spent some time this afternoon figuring out how it works and it is really cool. It is a watch designed for running. It has a heart monitor, and an easy stop watch (plus all the added standard features). It saves your times, and has a little "hard drive" in it that allows you to go back and see your heart rate from previous runs etc. It also tells you the percent of you max heart rate you are exercising at. Anway, I am really excited about it, and was thrilled people remembered about how bad I have wanted a good running watch for a while. Before people took off we played some fun games. We played the game B&K gave max last year for his b-day. Then we played the dice game and then pictionary. As a result of playing the dice game, Stef and I may head down to Vegas in a couple weeks to solidify our financial status. That girl was rolling like it was her job. She seriously had some huge rolls. One time she rolled 5-1's. It was amazing. Thanks again to everyone for making it such a special day for me.
School is going pretty well, and we are close to finishing up. 2 more days of classes and then some final exams. I am really excited to get done except that 2-3 days after I finish, I start up spring term which will be 9 credit hrs in one term. That is the equivilant of about 18 credit hrs ina semester. Classes should be a little easier than this semester but tough none-the-less. Keep us in your prayers as we take finals these upcoming weeks.
Married life continues to be such a fun, rewarding blessing in our lives. We love watching our little baby kick in Stef's tummy at nights. Stef works so hard to get all the things done that she needs too: school, work, cleaning, cooking etc. I wonder what it will be like when the day finally comes that she doesn't work anymore, and she is graduated. She is going to love that!
My final comment is how grateful I am to work at the MTC. It has truly been a blessing in my life. It builds my testimony each day to be around the missionaries. Some are loving every second of the mission. Some are trying to get used to the idea of studying all day long. Some struggle with the change they are going through. Each of them has an impact on me, and has blessed my life for the good. It is such a blessing to work in a place where I have time to study and teach the gospel during the day. It strengthens my testimony to have that active gospel study each day. I hope that each of us makes sure that above all else we are taking time to strengthen and fortify our testimony. Satan is giving it his last big shot and we can tighten our armor by daily study and prayer. I know that is true.
I love you all. We are praying, dad, you can get feeling better. Thanks for coming down yesterday to party with us and organizing the shin-dig. It was great!
Love,
Nick
A fun week at the homestead...
Hi happy family,
Mom's been gone this week. You know what that means? Quality of life goes right down the toilet. We have to try to make up for the loss with a numbing overdose of chocolate milk, sugar cereal, eating out, and movies... all those things which takes your mind off the suffering you're going through at the moment. So we're looking forward to mom coming home tonight to relieving our suffering so we can go back to all those things which are good for us - broccoli, saturday chores, and making our beds every day...JK. So thanks Blaine and Kristi for taking such good care of mom so she could come back and get us all back on track! Thanks for not letting Shamu swallow her.
Actually my sickness took hold before mom left...it just got worse after she left. It got so bad that Janey got tired of listening to me cough all day long, and she begged me to go see a doctor - which I did on Thursday. He gave me a bunch of meds, told me I'm borderline pnemoniac, and sent me home. I kept hoping that I'd get better in time to go on my trip this weekend. But after going out with Nick and Stef for Nick's party last night, I realized that I am in no condition to go anywhere. So at about 10:30pm on a Saturday night, I got on email and wrote to 4 people asking them if they wanted me to come even if I was sick or not. I told them my flight was at 8:30 am the next morning and that I needed to leave for the airport at 6:30am. So if they wanted me to stay to please let me know before I left. I got up at 5:30am and went downstairs to check email. To my amazement 2 of the four had responded and told me to stay home. That would be the most UNLIKELY time for anyone to check email between 10 pm and 5 am on a Sunday morning. Wow...those IBMers are good!
So, I cancelled my flight, hotel, and class. And now I'm home suitcase is still packed, and I'm waiting for the repurcusions to come crashing in. Oh well, I'm still coughing and I feel like I did the right thing.
Other than that this week was great. Max and Janey are such comfortable and fun people to share a house with. They are responsible, active, hard working, and they love to be home. We did make our beds, we did keep the dishes clean, we didn't eat out but twice...and one of those was Nick's birthday party. But we did watch a video every night except for the night we went to a movie - Horton Hears a Who...which we all loved - and the night we went to Nick and Stef's for his birthday.
We pray for all of you, and hope your weeks are going great!
Loves.
Dad
Mom's been gone this week. You know what that means? Quality of life goes right down the toilet. We have to try to make up for the loss with a numbing overdose of chocolate milk, sugar cereal, eating out, and movies... all those things which takes your mind off the suffering you're going through at the moment. So we're looking forward to mom coming home tonight to relieving our suffering so we can go back to all those things which are good for us - broccoli, saturday chores, and making our beds every day...JK. So thanks Blaine and Kristi for taking such good care of mom so she could come back and get us all back on track! Thanks for not letting Shamu swallow her.
Actually my sickness took hold before mom left...it just got worse after she left. It got so bad that Janey got tired of listening to me cough all day long, and she begged me to go see a doctor - which I did on Thursday. He gave me a bunch of meds, told me I'm borderline pnemoniac, and sent me home. I kept hoping that I'd get better in time to go on my trip this weekend. But after going out with Nick and Stef for Nick's party last night, I realized that I am in no condition to go anywhere. So at about 10:30pm on a Saturday night, I got on email and wrote to 4 people asking them if they wanted me to come even if I was sick or not. I told them my flight was at 8:30 am the next morning and that I needed to leave for the airport at 6:30am. So if they wanted me to stay to please let me know before I left. I got up at 5:30am and went downstairs to check email. To my amazement 2 of the four had responded and told me to stay home. That would be the most UNLIKELY time for anyone to check email between 10 pm and 5 am on a Sunday morning. Wow...those IBMers are good!
So, I cancelled my flight, hotel, and class. And now I'm home suitcase is still packed, and I'm waiting for the repurcusions to come crashing in. Oh well, I'm still coughing and I feel like I did the right thing.
Other than that this week was great. Max and Janey are such comfortable and fun people to share a house with. They are responsible, active, hard working, and they love to be home. We did make our beds, we did keep the dishes clean, we didn't eat out but twice...and one of those was Nick's birthday party. But we did watch a video every night except for the night we went to a movie - Horton Hears a Who...which we all loved - and the night we went to Nick and Stef's for his birthday.
We pray for all of you, and hope your weeks are going great!
Loves.
Dad
Turn on the shields...
Hi happy family,
We're half way through April, and we only have one family entry in the BAWB (and it was a repeat from the Bark).
---WARNING --- PLEASE TURN ON YOUR GUILT TRIP SHIELDS SO YOU WONT BE OFFENDED BY DAD WHO IS SICK---
It's kinda sad really. I'd hoped with all the family, and our love for each other, that we would be all over this thing. I guess the ease of cell phone use wins out over having to log into the internet, find a blog, log into the blog, and then type up an entry. But one strong pitch for the blog is that it is a permanent record...you type it once and it lasts forever...whereas cell phone use only plays once and it's gone forever...
The other thing to remember is that we own your cell phone accounts (well for most of you that is), and all it would take is a quick call to T-Mobile, and you'd be on your own for your cell phone accounts....now there's a threat for you...:)
---OKAY YOU MAY NOW TURN OFF YOUR GUILT TRIP SHIELDS CUZ DAD's OFF HIS SOAPBOX....for now!----
Hope life is sweet. Really! Mom is at Blaine and Kristi's, Nick and Stef are prepping for their new baby. Janey is working hard to pay off her car, Rosey floated the river last night after Nick's party, Max is being asked left and right to put on magic shows. Also he has turned into a social butterfly in just 3 weeks time. People are calling all the time to ask him to come party. Dad is about to lose his job because he called in sick for a huge training event.
So, life is sweet. Share some of it with us...
Thanks again. Loves.
Dad
We're half way through April, and we only have one family entry in the BAWB (and it was a repeat from the Bark).
---WARNING --- PLEASE TURN ON YOUR GUILT TRIP SHIELDS SO YOU WONT BE OFFENDED BY DAD WHO IS SICK---
It's kinda sad really. I'd hoped with all the family, and our love for each other, that we would be all over this thing. I guess the ease of cell phone use wins out over having to log into the internet, find a blog, log into the blog, and then type up an entry. But one strong pitch for the blog is that it is a permanent record...you type it once and it lasts forever...whereas cell phone use only plays once and it's gone forever...
The other thing to remember is that we own your cell phone accounts (well for most of you that is), and all it would take is a quick call to T-Mobile, and you'd be on your own for your cell phone accounts....now there's a threat for you...:)
---OKAY YOU MAY NOW TURN OFF YOUR GUILT TRIP SHIELDS CUZ DAD's OFF HIS SOAPBOX....for now!----
Hope life is sweet. Really! Mom is at Blaine and Kristi's, Nick and Stef are prepping for their new baby. Janey is working hard to pay off her car, Rosey floated the river last night after Nick's party, Max is being asked left and right to put on magic shows. Also he has turned into a social butterfly in just 3 weeks time. People are calling all the time to ask him to come party. Dad is about to lose his job because he called in sick for a huge training event.
So, life is sweet. Share some of it with us...
Thanks again. Loves.
Dad
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Repeat of my Bark Letter
Hello Happy Family!
I thought I would call my letter Hello from Orem today instead of Hello From Provo since I am writing this letter at UVSC and not at home which is in Provo. Although it really does not matter because the two cities are so intertwined it is disgusting! I mean I really would like to know who made the "boundaries" for Orem and Provo, it is so confusing to know which city you are in. The way I distinguish is by seeing how many UVU vs. BYU students there are. If there are more UVU students then I am in Orem, if there are more BYU students than I am in Provo...just in case any of you ever come to Provo/Orem and get really confused, that is a really good way to figure it out. :) Ok that was completely random and unnecessary it is just something I think about a lot. I am so disturbed right now, I am sitting in the Math computer lab and there is this very impolite kid speaking very loudly on his cell phone when right in front of his face is a large sign that asks people to answer calls out of the lab. Where has the world's decency gone? I would like to know what this kids parents taught him if they didn't teach him to be quiet in computer labs. Shoot the kid was probably never even taught to wash his hair when he showers! Grrr... Ok now that I have that anger out of my system I want to be positive I mean after all what isn't there to be positive about... I am at school learning...it is only 2 weeks until finals...I get to work 40 hours the week before and of finals...and it is still cold even though it is April! I see plenty of reasons to be super happy. :) Ok despite all the stuff that is going on in my life, I am very very happy. Life really is so great! I feel so blessed to be able to go to school and learn so much, not only in school but learning to deal with people of all kinds and learning to live on my own. It is so great. I enjoyed Conference so much this weekend, probably more than I ever have before! I am not sure if it is because I am more mature and can more effectively apply the things I learned into my life, or if it is because I spent both Saturday sessions on a date downtown with a super cute boy from my FHE group. Yes you all read that correctly I went on a hot date, he is one of my really good friends and it was a lot of fun to sit by him during conference. It was also super fun to go to Grandma's and be with the family on Sunday, I enjoyed meeting Bobs cute girlfriend who is my new idol. She is so outdoorsy and she is just so friendly. I especially liked her because she wore a bun in her hair which is how I always wear my hair. I just felt like we had some things in common! Anyways my life continues to be busy, I am currently applying to be a mentor at UVU where I will work in the incoming freshman class to help the students adapt better to college, if I make it I will recieve a full tuition scholarship as well as books and fees. Wow that would be nice. I have also kept busy with intramurals at both BYU and UVU. My BYU coed soccer team plays in the semifinals tonight which is really fun. I also spend a lot of time volunteering at LDS Family Services and a local Special Education Elementary Class. I love it! Among all of that I try to spend some time having fun...after my homework of course! Last night we had our ward Movie Night. IT was so fun, all the FHE groups had made movies of different genres and then we watched all of them last night. They were actually really really funny! It was fun to think about how many friends I have made since the beginning of the semester. I felt like such a pathetic loser when I first got to school, but last night as I sat there I realized how close I feel to everybody in my ward. The church is really so great to help us in so many areas of our lives! I am just miss everybody in my ward so much! I am pretty dang excited to go home for the summer though. Ok I know this letter was completely random and that it really didn't have any of my classis "stupid stories" but I guess I have just gotten smarter...:) I hope you are all doing well, I need to head to class. I love and miss you all.
Love, Rosey
PS I added this at Dad's request. I am not sure why...maybe you are all more likely to read it this way. I am going to do a test to see who reads this considering it is already in the bark... I am getting married!!!!
I thought I would call my letter Hello from Orem today instead of Hello From Provo since I am writing this letter at UVSC and not at home which is in Provo. Although it really does not matter because the two cities are so intertwined it is disgusting! I mean I really would like to know who made the "boundaries" for Orem and Provo, it is so confusing to know which city you are in. The way I distinguish is by seeing how many UVU vs. BYU students there are. If there are more UVU students then I am in Orem, if there are more BYU students than I am in Provo...just in case any of you ever come to Provo/Orem and get really confused, that is a really good way to figure it out. :) Ok that was completely random and unnecessary it is just something I think about a lot. I am so disturbed right now, I am sitting in the Math computer lab and there is this very impolite kid speaking very loudly on his cell phone when right in front of his face is a large sign that asks people to answer calls out of the lab. Where has the world's decency gone? I would like to know what this kids parents taught him if they didn't teach him to be quiet in computer labs. Shoot the kid was probably never even taught to wash his hair when he showers! Grrr... Ok now that I have that anger out of my system I want to be positive I mean after all what isn't there to be positive about... I am at school learning...it is only 2 weeks until finals...I get to work 40 hours the week before and of finals...and it is still cold even though it is April! I see plenty of reasons to be super happy. :) Ok despite all the stuff that is going on in my life, I am very very happy. Life really is so great! I feel so blessed to be able to go to school and learn so much, not only in school but learning to deal with people of all kinds and learning to live on my own. It is so great. I enjoyed Conference so much this weekend, probably more than I ever have before! I am not sure if it is because I am more mature and can more effectively apply the things I learned into my life, or if it is because I spent both Saturday sessions on a date downtown with a super cute boy from my FHE group. Yes you all read that correctly I went on a hot date, he is one of my really good friends and it was a lot of fun to sit by him during conference. It was also super fun to go to Grandma's and be with the family on Sunday, I enjoyed meeting Bobs cute girlfriend who is my new idol. She is so outdoorsy and she is just so friendly. I especially liked her because she wore a bun in her hair which is how I always wear my hair. I just felt like we had some things in common! Anyways my life continues to be busy, I am currently applying to be a mentor at UVU where I will work in the incoming freshman class to help the students adapt better to college, if I make it I will recieve a full tuition scholarship as well as books and fees. Wow that would be nice. I have also kept busy with intramurals at both BYU and UVU. My BYU coed soccer team plays in the semifinals tonight which is really fun. I also spend a lot of time volunteering at LDS Family Services and a local Special Education Elementary Class. I love it! Among all of that I try to spend some time having fun...after my homework of course! Last night we had our ward Movie Night. IT was so fun, all the FHE groups had made movies of different genres and then we watched all of them last night. They were actually really really funny! It was fun to think about how many friends I have made since the beginning of the semester. I felt like such a pathetic loser when I first got to school, but last night as I sat there I realized how close I feel to everybody in my ward. The church is really so great to help us in so many areas of our lives! I am just miss everybody in my ward so much! I am pretty dang excited to go home for the summer though. Ok I know this letter was completely random and that it really didn't have any of my classis "stupid stories" but I guess I have just gotten smarter...:) I hope you are all doing well, I need to head to class. I love and miss you all.
Love, Rosey
PS I added this at Dad's request. I am not sure why...maybe you are all more likely to read it this way. I am going to do a test to see who reads this considering it is already in the bark... I am getting married!!!!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Conference Week Cartoons - top 20
Another conspiracy we have to watch out for...babes...
I understand that all the employees of Disney have decided to speak with one voice also....
The new employee...
Bill Cosby said that parents aren't really interested in truth or in right/wrong. They are really more interested in quiet...another example...
The new self reliance program...
The importance of restored authority....
Motto: Don't visit courtrooms unless you know you're going to be allowed to Go. Uncle Brent sent a crew out to the prison to work on the roof. He got a phone call from the crew cheif. Crew Cheif: "Uh Brent, we've got a problem...",
The real reason Blaine didn't get the minivan...
So true, so true...
Where Nick goes to camp...
I understand that all the employees of Disney have decided to speak with one voice also....
The new employee...
Bill Cosby said that parents aren't really interested in truth or in right/wrong. They are really more interested in quiet...another example...The new self reliance program...
The importance of restored authority....
Motto: Don't visit courtrooms unless you know you're going to be allowed to Go. Uncle Brent sent a crew out to the prison to work on the roof. He got a phone call from the crew cheif. Crew Cheif: "Uh Brent, we've got a problem...", Brent: "Yeah, what's that"
Chief: "We got the roof done...but they kept 3 of the workers."
The real reason Blaine didn't get the minivan...
So true, so true...
Where Nick goes to camp...
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