My Random Three's Tag

Apparently last month my BYU roommate, Camille, tagged me with this post and I missed it somehow. Yesterday she "reminded" me I'd never done it, and then this morning I read the same tag on Shana's blog, so here it goes.

My Random Threes:

JOYS
1. My family is hands down my number one joy! I have the best husband. He is so supportive and encouraging. He's a great dad to our kids. He puts up with all of my quirks and genuinely still loves me, which is amazing in and of itself. He is deep, spiritual, strong, compassionate, and my better half. My kids are genuinely sweet-natured kids, which is such a blessing in our home. Don't get me wrong - they are often my biggest headache - but I would be miserable without any one of them because they each complete a part of my heart and bring me joy everyday in multiple ways. My parents, siblings, in-laws, etc. are wonderful - I'm very blessed.

2. The gospel. My testimony brings with it the joy of knowing my life has purpose. Through the gospel I know my number one joy, my family, can be together forever, and that gives me delight every day. I don't know how people survive without the amazing network provided by belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the knowledge that they are a child of God.

3. A good book or movie. There is nothing like an escape into a good story to relieve you from daily pressures. There is no better way to gain perspective than to learn about someone else who has struggled more than you. There is no better way to become a better person than by loving a character and discovering which of their characteristics you admire or want to develop in yourself. There is no better way to increase your capacity to think or empathize. For me, it is pure joy.

FEARS
1. Failing my kids. Not teaching them enough. Not loving them enough. Not building their self esteem enough to make them confident in themselves. Not keeping them humble. Not helping them develop testimonies of their own. Not helping them become independent and responsible enough. Not helping them become the amazing adults I know they can be. I love being a mother, but it is the highest-pressure job there is.

2. Sharks. I know it is completely silly, but I am absolutely paranoid where they are concerned. I love the ocean, but I freeze up every time I go in just waiting for those deathly jaws to find me. Craig laughs at me as I trepidatiously enter the water; I'm actually glad he finds it humorous because it helps get me past it. When I was pregnant with the twins we went to a 3-D ocean life film and I had to run out of the theater halfway through to throw-up. I tried to write it off as morning/motion sickness, but a lot of it had to do with the huge sharks in my face. Needless to say, "Jaws" is not a movie that fits Joy number 3.

3. Home invasion. I'm a freak about locking doors and windows - even during the day. I have locked myself out of the house twice because once a door is closed and locked behind me there is no other way in without breaking something! I don't think I could handle watching someone hurt my kids in my home. And the thought of them seeing someone hurt me and their devastation is just as terrible.

GOALS
1. To lose weight. I know it is completely trivial and superficial in the long-term scheme of things, but it is a goal of mine nonetheless. I guess this means my goal is to exercise more because I've given up on trying to not eat.

2. To publish a book someday. I was an English major in college and have always wanted to write a children's book or young adult novel. It will likely go unfulfilled, but it has long been one of my dreams.

3. To be more patient. I'm too quick to lose my temper, and I'm constantly working on this one!

OBSESSIONS / COLLECTIONS
1. Jane Austen. I love her books. I love her characters. I love that she wrote to remain independent. I read and watch her works way more than I should. I quote her way too often. My blog music is from Pride and Prejudice. I would love to be in an Austen film someday. (I'd probably be the silly, rambling, old maid but it would still be fun!) I'm so glad Craig is secure enough to listen to me ramble about Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley and just smile about it. Thank goodness he "ardently admires and loves" me!

2. Cleaning. I debated about putting a clean house or a good book as Joy number 3. Four kids have definitely caused my standards to relax a little, but I still can't sleep if there are dishes in the sink. I do my best thinking while I'm scrubbing something. It is a great way to vent frustration (see Goal #3) and I don't seem to function very well if my house and car are messy. There are many nights that Craig rolls his eyes as he goes to bed because he knows I won't until the laundry is folded and the dishwasher is running!

3. Blogging. A fairly new one but rapidly gaining in severity.

Overall I'm a pretty obsessive person, but most of you already know that.

RANDOM or SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT ME
1. I was very injury prone as a child. Not scrapes and cuts but big things like breaking my arm, having my finger severred from my hand (and thankfully re-attached), being hit by a car and stuff like that. Most happened because I was trying to be too independent - shocking, I know!

2. I've always had really straight teeth but I still had to have braces (with headgear) for two years because I had such a bad over-bite.

3. I'm super competitive, so it about killed our marriage when I lost to Craig in Monopoly twelve times in a row! I came back to redeem myself with a winning streak, and I'm not sure we've played since. The current competition is who dominates in Super Smash Melee, and I'm winning!

I'm tagging Diane, Jenny, Kent, Miranda and anyone else who wants to play!

"Memories - Like the Corners of Mind"

I got this from a friend's blog and thought it would be fun! I hope you will play along.

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Cul-de-sac of Fire

Traditionally on the 4th we light fireworks with the Besaw family. Over the years it has become a favorite tradition. We love it when others come enjoy the show and this year Wendy and Jerry's family were able to join in the fun (minus the busy travelling man, Jerry)!

This year, because we went to Stadium of Fire on the 4th, we post-poned our own cul-de-sac of fire for family night.

Kent is Fireworks Headmaster (a.k.a. Lighter and Purchase co-ordinator). He's chosen a few over the years that have become hits, particularly the parachutes. The kids love to chase after their own treasured parachute. It helps to keep anxious kids engaged while waiting for it to get dark enough!

Once it is dark, the real show begins. The Besaw family favorite is, of all things, Flashes. This is actually great because they are also one of the cheapest. The strobe effect looks really cool when someone feels silly enough to get up and dance. Silliness is something the Besaw's are all really good at! It's actually quite fun. Grandma Besaw has been known to shake her groove thang, I (Craig) have a funky "ballet" move that gets a laugh, and this year we had a chorus line (Madison, Mackenzie, Michaela, and Allie).

The only thing I can think of to describe what Clayton, Jaxon, and Tyler were doing is gettin' jiggy widdit.

The cherry on top of it all, though, has got to be Kent's performance of the worm each year. You can check it out on his blog, but here you can see our very own budding wormboy, Clayton, ATTEMPTING to be like his awesome uncle (who cheered him on: "Go, worm, go!").

Fun with Cousins

Sunday afternoon Craig's sister, Wendy, and her two girls—Lauren and Michaela—came to visit from California, just in time for the big family party. While they were here, all the kids slept in the downstairs family room together, which is always a hit. Monday afternoon while Wendy and Lauren visited BYU, the kids and I went to see Wall-E. It was fun to be together, but I didn't love the film. We came home and turned on the sprinkler for the kids to cool off. We have a great family and always love when they come to visit.

Party All The Time!

As previously posted, the week surrounding July 4th is a week full of fun at our house. The party continued Sunday night with a big gathering of the Laurence and Besaw clans. It is great to live close to so much of our extended family; it often makes for a big party!


Morgan was particularly excited to get her special blanket from Grandma and Grandpa Laurence (a birthday tradition) and Clayton was THRILLED with his skateboard from Grandma and Grandpa Besaw. He was especially excited to see that it included "all the armor." Thanks everyone for the great gifts! It was such a fun night, and now we are officially done with our family birthday parties until March. (Whew!)

A Blast of a 4th!

The 4th began with a bang when I got a text message congratulating me for winning a mountain bike from I.M. Home! I can't say I never win anything now. Grandma and Grandpa Besaw picked up Morgan around 2:00 for a special day together while we attended the various festivities in Provo. On our way, we stopped at Krispy Kreme to enjoy free donuts (from coupons we got on Valentine's Day of all things) and checked out the bike. Thus ended the free stuff, so we stopped at McDonald's for a cold drink and then headed over to the Freedom Festival.


We wandered through the festival booths (who knew there were so many different jewelry and headband distributors!) heading to meet the presidential candidate we support: Chuck Baldwin. It was a pleasure to meet and visit with him. He is a good, wise, and honest man—a breath of fresh air, especially compared to Obama and McCain. Remember, you do have another choice!

After getting our fill of booth shopping and picking up a ninja sword, earrings, and Hannah Montanna lotion and chapsticks as souvenirs, we visited Colonial Days at the Crandall Historic Printing Museum. The things displayed there were amazing reminders of what our Founding Fathers and their families had to go through just to function in daily life.


At the Colonial Days celebration we got to listen to "George Washington" tell us a few stories about his life. We learned that he really did cut down that cherry tree, but his inability to fib had nothing to do with it. Rather, he was angry at his younger brother for keeping him from "town" to help with the chores, even though young 9-year-old George had just finished chopping wood.

To vent his frustration, axe in hand, he took a swipe at the young cherry tree his father had planted just two years before. Still angry, he took a second swipe, which chopped the tree in two. After a good licking, his father, Augustine, told him he wasn't licked for chopping the tree, but for letting his anger get the best of him. Augustine let him know that he must always consider the consequences of his actions and control his temper. Interestingly, on Augustine's deathbed, he told George he'd never struck anyone out of anger, and that he hoped George would always keep his anger in check, which he consciously sought to do throughout his life.

Overall the colonial experience made our country's birthday celebration much more poignant, and we're so grateful for the blessing it is to our family to live in this great nation!


After listening to "George" we grabbed dinner at Hogi Yogi and headed into Stadium of Fire. After counting down for two months (since their birthday) Mackenzie and Madison were excited to FINALLY have the chance to see MILEY CYRUS!!! I don't know if I've ever seen them as awestruck as they were getting their first glimpse of the stadium crowd, but it quickly changed to pure glee.

The performance was amazing. There really is no other way to describe it. The Blue Man Group was original, funny, and even more enjoyable than we expected. Miley was great at getting everyone involved in the party. The girls (and Clayton) were great at squealing . . . along with the other 50,000 or so pre-teen fans.

As you can see, we had a great time. I will always remember Mackenzie and Madison singing "See You Again" from the stands.


We were a little worried about our seats being too close to the firework launching area, but it was fabulous. They were right there in our faces; it was a spectacular way to end the night. This year's Independence Day was an experience we will never forget!

Born on the 3rd of July

What a week! It started with my baby turning four, and now my boy—my ONE boy—turned SEVEN! His birthday has always been uniquely special because it is the day before our country's birthday. (He honestly thought the fireworks and parades were for him until he was five!) We started out with his party on Monday. With a big party last year and knowing next year is the big eight we kept it pretty low key. We invited his two best friends, Jaxon Blackham and Trace Muse (who live exactly one and two doors up from us) to celebrate and watch Kung Fu Panda. We ate cake, opened presents, and headed to the theater for some seriously good laughs.

This morning the celebration continued as we opened presents before Craig had to leave for work. Clayton, unlike our fickle-four-year-old, has been asking for the same two items for months - Super Smash Brothers Melee and a skateboard. Of course, we had to throw in the practical gift of new summer clothing and decided on a wicked plan: Make him open two packages of shirts first, then let him open two fun presents, and then the final present of two more shirts with a hidden suprise. The result follows:

Happy Birthday, Bud! We love you and look forward to enjoying the rest of this week's celebrations . . . and taking you on in Super Smash!