Sad News

I'm not sure if anyone else knows or not but apparently 3 of the 4 Blakes died within the last two months.  Johnny and James died back in January (not sure how) and Marlene died this past Monday night.  That's all I know for now, I just thought I should keep everyone up to date.

Rowan's birthday cake smash

By the time we finally gave Rowan his birthday cake, he'd been sitting in his highchair anticipating food for quite some time, all the while having an annoying crown forced onto his head over and over and about a million and a half pictures taken of him.

Poor guy. All he wanted was to be fed!

(Thanks for the video, Dad!)

A Christmas Tradition

For those of you who don't know, Keith and I have been giving each other gag gifts since we were little. It all started with Keith giving me a large box as an extra gift with nothing but a nasty potato in it. One particular highlight was at Mom and Dad's where I was presented with a delightfully wrapped deer's leg. A few years later he gave me a toy deer with a peg leg. So this year I gave him a little something in return...

Lighting of the Macy's tree in Atlanta (video)

Here's the video I mentioned in the post I wrote on the Hillgrove blog. It still chokes me up a little watching it now. The thrill that my children got out of that experience is part of what makes Christmas magical for me. I love watching them revel in this holiday. I relive my childhood when I see the excitement this season brings them. The video is short, but still captures the priceless reaction of my 6-year-old to something that I may not have found "awesome" if he hadn't been there with me.

A plea for old stuff.

Hey kids.  So this January, I'm moving into a house for the first time for college.  It's an ADORABLE house, complete with lofts in every room and paid utilities.  I'm really excited about it.  However, it doesn't come furnished for each tenant.  Fortunately, I'm buying my contract from a close friend who is willing to leave her bed frame and mattress behind for me to use. (Though I was secretly hoping I'd have to find my own bed, which would be a double, meaning I could finally take my memory foam mattress topper with me to school... bummer.)  Also, I do have a desk that I took with me last year and plan on moving to Cedar City again this year.

So basically I'm still left without a dresser, desk chair, and anything for me to sit on besides my bed.  I have this thing where I don't like to do anything (i.e. homework, reading, eating, watching movies, studying, internetting, blogging... oops.) on my bed but sleep, so I'd like to have some sore of loveseat/easy chair to put in my giant room in which to do my occasional chilling.  Also, I have my own loft in my room, so I think it'd be neat to furnish that a bit.

The point I'm trying to make is that if anyone who is coming to Mom & Dad's house for Christmas has any furniture they'd like to donate/sell to me, I'd be down with that.  Obviously I can still go to DI and find various things, but a) chairs of strangers make me nervous, and b) you all have great taste, and I'd love to be graced by the presence of your old stuff. :)

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, offers, funny jokes, double-sized beds lying around, or insults, give me a call or shoot me a text.  Unless it's the last one.  Then just keep that to yourself... *cough*Rachelle*cough*

Love you! I can't wait to see you all so so soon. :)

xoxo

P.S. This all goes for decorative things too, such as drapes, mirrors, framed prints, etc.

Old Pics

Hi there.  Dad here.  I got a new scanner the other day, and the first project has been scanning a bunch of old black and white negatives I have.  It's been fun to see them and remember some of the places and people back then.  Thought I'd share a few of them with you.  If I have left one or more of you out, I apologize and may try again later when I get more scanned.

I thought it was cool that the mothers are in the background.

In the other pictures, he's smiling. 

Is he supposed to bend that way?

I guess that's enough for now.  Hope you enjoy them.  If you want to repost them to Facebook for a wider audience, that's ok with me.  Dad

Wishlist extension

Part of my wishlist is a list of vinyl records I'd like.  The list, however, is too long (in my opinion) to add to the side bar.  So here is my record wishlist.  If it's just the band name, it means I just want their greatest hits album or an album that consists mostly of their greatest hits.

·     Lynyrd Skynyrd

·     Queen

·     Ray Charles

·     BB King

·     Blues Brothers (original & 2000) soundtrack

·     Stevie Ray Vaughn

·     Eagles

·     Eric Clapton

·     Eric Clapton “Unplugged”

·     Europe

·     Allman Brothers

·     Guns & Roses “Appetite for Destruction”

·     Metallica “Black Album”

·     Red Hot Chili Peppers

·     Santana

·     Santana “Supernatural”

·     The Who

·     The Who “Guess Who”

·     Led Zeppelin

·     Bob Seger

·     Journey

·     Joe Cocker

·     James Taylor

·     Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA”, “Born to Run”

·     The Black Keys (any of their albums except Brothers)

·     Stone Temple Pilots “Core”

·     Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On”

·     Robert Johnson “The Complete Recordings”

·     Stevie Wonder “Talking Book”

·     AC/DC “Back in Black”
   Bon Jovi "Slippery When Wet"

   Michael Buble and She & Him (for Kristen)

Fall in Michigan

October in Michigan is magical.  There's a noticeable change in the weather that lets you know fall is really here.  Jackets and sweaters, boots and scarves come out, but once in a while you'll get a day where short sleeves and sandals are necessary.  Gray skies and sunshine take turns. 

 

Little by little the leaves on the trees and bushes and vines start to change into brilliant colors.  Driving down the road there will be little pops of red and orange, coral and yellow in among the bright summer green.  Lawns and streets are blanketed with the most amazingly bright leaves.  Gradually those warm colors take over until it looks like the whole place is on fire.

 

Then it's gone.  Trees with branches still full of leaves that are now brown, or bare entirely, are everywhere.  Once in a while you'll spot a late changer, but not often.  Piles and piles of brown leaves line the streets. 

 

October is way too short, in my opinion.

 

Today the temperature is in the low 40's but feels more like the 20's.  The sky is gray and the wind is whipping around, blowing the dead leaves like crazy and pulling even more down from the trees. 

 

At the beginning of the month Aaron and I took the little boys on an afternoon stroll around our neighborhood.  I'm glad I took my camera along because some of the trees were in their full glory, and some had barely even started to change color.  It was breathtaking.

 

Things that prove I'm growing up/turning into Mom

• I’m registered to vote
• I willingly watched the presidential debate by myself
• I spent the 2 hour drive home from the airport listening to classical music on late-night NPR
• I daydream almost exclusively about decorating my house someday
• I obey traffic laws
• I actually iron my clothes, rather than pretending they’re “supposed to look worn-in”
• I buy wheat bread now
• My body hurts after driving
• I don't understand a lot of the fashion trends right now... and I work in retail
• I can feel my heart physically ache when I see a picture of Rowan crying (seriously Sarah, not cool)
• When I’m frustrated, rather than using expletives, I literally say “Ding dagnabbit!” exactly like Mom

I’m not super excited about being an adult, but I will say that I love the idea that maybe someday I have a chance of being anywhere as adorable as my sweet mom.

Hey. Hey guys. Hey family. Hey.

It's me, your Jennifer.  I just thought I'd jump on here for a minute and tell you all that I think you are koala-tea folks. (Think about it.)  I sure miss you boys and girls (except Bryce and Dena. But only because they're upstairs, so I'm not sure they really count), and I hope you're all doing rather well.

xoxo

Mom's New Mexico Visit 2012

Dean says that we need to take a vacation together for a change--people are going to start talking because we never seem to go anywhere together!!  But sometimes our schedules don't allow it, so he got to visit Casa de Campo in June and I went in August!!

Terry, Cyndy and Tricia were all able to come out at the same time for the better part of the first week of August!  One evening, Popper wanted to take his "girls" out to dinner at Pendaries (pronouned "Pan-der-ay") Country Club.  It was a beautiful evening (once the sun got out of Mommer's eyes) so we ate outside on the patio.  It was fun to be just the six of us again--and we didn't even embarrass Mommer by running around the table!!

By the end of my 10 day visit, we had several arrivals of family members which culminated on the day before my birthday with Terry & Ferrell, Cyndy, Shaun, Kelli & Emma, Tricia, Chris, Taylor, Addie, Aubrey, Jordyn, Ashton, her friend Jack Larsen & last but not least, Wesley!  On Friday evening, Terry prepared a Mexican feast, and for dessert, Taylor made a delicious Carrot Cake for my pre-birthday celebration!  Then, of course, we had to take family pictures before some of the family had to head for home the next day.

Of course, we have the obligatory 'crazy pose' picture...

And the 'cousins' picture...

Someone thought it would be fun to re-create a picture taken years ago when Wesley was maybe 2-years-old and sitting on Popper's knee--both of them wearing their bolo ties.  This time, the tables are turned and Popper is on Wesley's knee!

And this picture was Popper's idea--a re-creation of a photo of him, sitting on this same foot stool when he was maybe 3-years-old...

Finally, I leave you with a picture of a lovely New Mexico evening sky that Tricia took on our way home from our evening out with Mommer & Popper.  Happy trails!

Pam

I want to get Direct TV...

...just because John Cleese told me to.

And I ♥ him.




Massive fur coat.
Hideous custom tailored blue suit + hat.
Shark tank.
Arm-shaving butler.
Gigantic lobster.
Ping-pong playing eskimo.
Hunting in his drawers.

Awesome commercial.

Yup, more sand

Just thought I’d post a few pictures of my road trip within a road trip the other day.  Even my mother thinks I’m weird.  In the middle of a 1250 mile road trip with Sarah and the kids, I took a day and drove 300 miles to see some sand dunes.  See what I mean about weird?  I think they used to call that a busman’s holiday.  Anyway, the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is located about 25 miles north of Alamosa, Colorado, and I had heard of it for some time and have been wanting to see it, so I took the opportunity (and Mommer’s Forester) and made the trip. 

Their dunes are the tallest in North America and cover a much larger area than ours (330 square miles) .  For a size comparison, the specks on the next picture are people who are out walking on the dunes.

They have some streams that run around the perimeter of their dunes, which I thought was kind of neat, since we have no open water at all.  This one is called Castle Creek and was only running about an inch deep.

As a national park, they don’t allow vehicles out on the dunes, so walking is the only way to get out there, and as I’ve done my share of sand hiking for my lifetime, I didn’t go out very far.  But I did find some pretty Sand Verbena flowers and almost all of them had a big green caterpillar busy eating the leaves on them.

Anyway it was a fun trip and another tick off the bucket list.  I didn’t get any sand because we already have them in our collection at the park, but you can see the difference in color between them and us.

They might be bigger, but I think we are prettier.

Capitol Reef

About two weeks ago, I got to go spend a week in Capitol Reef National Park with my landscape photography class.  Bummer...i know.  Kristen, unfortunately, didn't get to go with me.  I had an awesome time hiking and taking hundreds of photos.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

These first few photos cost me $75.  The reason being that a few of us heard about this waterfall but the only one we found had a restricted sign.  But we figured if we came up to to it from a different direction it would be fine.  So we took a bunch of pictures until we were stopped by the always vigilant park rangers who informed us that it didn't matter where we came from, the falls were still off limits.  So we got fined $75.  Totally worth it though in my mind.