Called to serve.

Tomorrow is a day of very mixed emotions as our Dean Jordan leaves for Utah to report to the MTC to begin his mission in Paraguay. He is the first of the Urmston grandkids to do so (no pressure!) and we are all so proud of him. I know he will have amazing experiences, and that he will touch so many lives with his numerous talents and sweet spirit. All of "Team Urmston" has been blessed by Jordan's decision to serve, and there's a whole pack of boys (and probably some girls!) who will follow in his footsteps in the years to come.

Cool Hand Luke has gone to greener pastures.

Now why can't "celebrities" like Sienna Miller and Criss Angel go away and Paul Newman could stay forever? Now go buy some of his salad dressing or popcorn in memoriam; it's for the kids!

For Jake!

Here you go, sir. Some are for the sports and movie lover in you, while others are just complete celeb trash. I am like a Snapple bottle cap when it comes to useless celebrity information...useless until it's time to play Trivial Pursuit, Taboo, or Catchphrase.

WARNING! These sites are not parent-approved...so judge me. (Sorry, Mom.)

Merci beaucoup to the Johnson siblings for introducing me. (See, I can speak in your stupid secret French language, too.)

Fuzzy Memories...by Jack Handey

I remember when we were kids, one of our favorite games was to play "pirate." We'd dress up like pirates. Then we'd go find an adult walking down the street and we'd go up to him and pull out our butcher knives, which we called "swords," and say "We're pirates! Give us your money!" A lot of adults would pretend to be scared and give us their money. Others would suddenly run away, yelling for help. We played pirate until we were twenty or so.

I am Commando Coalfire. Jealous?

We all appreciate unique baby names that set kids apart from the many Britneys (I have at least five in my class every year, all spelled differently. Interestingly, Britney Spears did not spark this but rather was a result of it.) and Aidans (thanks, "Sex and the City"!) That's why I appreciate the creative thought Sarah Palin put into the naming of her children. Ever wonder what your name would be if you has been born to Alaska's Queen B? Just follow the link, my friends...and ignore all the smugly pretentious Obama products on the site.
PS-Don't be surprised when you see me sporting a t-shirt displaying my new moniker in the medium of iron-on letters.
PPS-Will someone for the love of all that is right in the world show me how to insert a link? ARGHHHH!!! (Kyle? This means you.) Just go to the blog listed below; it is a Sept. 20th post.

politsk.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday, Poopface McGee!

Three years ago today brought us our lovely little Talia. Why do I love her? Let me count the ways...
1. She is a mini-me version of her mom
2. She is a true Urmston in her voracious consumption of all chilly treats, including ice cream, snow cones, and Uncle Mason's creamsicles from the "outside fridge"
3. She likes to get in my shower and close the big glass door to pretend she is Daphne and stuck "in the computer," imitating an episode of Scooby Doo
4. Rap songs get her to really shake it like a Polaroid picture
5. She is super polite, even telling her hand "thank you for washing me!" during bathtime
6. She thinks her vitamins are a special treat, as Nicole tells her they are candy
7. All it takes is a stale ol' marshmallow to make her happy
8. She called her brother Tristan "Kristen" for the first month
Etc. I am starting to feel like one of those people who force you to look at vacation pictures when you couldn't care less, so I'll stop the gushing now. Happy birthday, baby girl!

Dumb and Dumber

Two weeks ago Mason had his first varsity footbal game against Clovis West. They were up 19 to 7 at the half and we were all thrilled. When the team got back from halftime, however, he was on the sidelines, talking to everyone (we don't talk if not required) and dancing around. Hmmm...Dad went down to investigate but Mason couldn't really tell him anything. Why, you ask? He had a concussion. Apparently his teammates had a good time with him throughout the remainder of the game, as he forgot everything a minute after the conversation. More of the incident was documented for hours afterwards at home, with Jordan videotaping, and each time Mason was told Liberty ended up losing (after he got out-he is awesome!) he had the EXACT same reaction: make a noise, sigh heavily, and lean back...this continued for a couple hours, as well as his reading the same text messages aloud repeatedly. You definitely know something is up when he's sharing info. from his phone, as I've had my arm nearly ripped from its socket a few times for just glancing at the stupid thing. Mason was taken to the emergency room, where they confirmed what we already knew. The fun continued the next day, as he asked me the same questions he had posed to everyone else, until he finally fell asleep (thank goodness). He is till bummed that he'll never remember his first varsity game, but we will never forget it! Now Jordan's turn-wisdom teeth removed Tuesday plus the good drugs Wednesday night equals crazy druggie falling asleep in his mashed potatoes and taking 5 hours to apply chapstick. As we are not the drug-indulging family, these two incidents are the closest I'll ever get to seeing my brothers in an inebriated state...which is a-ok. Just say no, kids, just say no.

Tillykke med Fødselsdagen

That's "happy birthday" in Danish, which is what we are. I know, I'm crafty. So I tried to scan a picture of my mom from her high school days, but I am a computer idiot and couldn't figure it out. Then (it gets better) I tried to take a picture of a picture, but that wasn't happening. I know, I am actually allowed to teach other people's children- ridiculous. The point of all this is to wish her a joyous birthday! She is such a fun mom and I love that she makes me vinyl stickers, vainly tries to teach me to cook/sew, raised me NOT in Utah, instilled in me a love of learning and reading, taught me how to be financially savvy, gossips with me, and encourages me to find true love. And happy anniversary...a few days late.