Funny Stuff,

Cole: Here's a story that will make Floyd and I laugh for the rest of our lives. To preface it, you should know that Floyd is terrified of midgets. Makes sense, right? I mean, it's totally logical to be scared of a grown adult half your size. So one day, we were waiting at a stoplight. I noticed among the crowd crossing the street a midget woman dressed in some odd apparel and quickly pointed her out to Floyd. I'm helpful like that. Just as I did so, Cole called out excitedly from the backseat, "Hey, look! A troll is crossing the road!"

Annie: Annie is always good for a laugh. She's got a great sense of humor and is just naturally very funny. But sometimes she doesn't mean to be. For example, one time she said to Floyd, "this one's the mo." He was completely confused until I explained that she was simply showing him the winner of "Eenie Meanie Miney Mo." She frequently calls the winner the "mo." Makes me laugh every time.

Another day, she came to me with a pair of balloons tied together that she was pretending were fairy wings and asked if I could tie them to her so she could wear them to school. When I asked why, she said, "because I know Brockston will love me if I wear wings." She's a bit boy crazy, but her idea of sexy is sometimes a bit off. On a related note, we have recently caught her flirting with the boys collecting fast offerings and the Elders when they stopped in for a visit.

Annie also believes that she never sleeps. Every morning I ask her how she slept just because I love to hear her reply, "I didn't fweep. I can never fweep." In reality, she is pretty much the only one in the house who does get any sleep - out like a light every night.

As for Ben, pretty much everything he does is funny. Or messy. Here's an example of both:
Ten seconds later the toilet was full of toilet paper. Awesome.

Life around here is never dull.

Nativity

Annie decided to help Grandma Rose with her Christmas decorating this year. She did a great job, but things got a bit interesting when Ben decided to "help" out. Here is what he came up with:

Nativity-in-a-drawer. A very of the moment trend.

Christmas Tree Hunt

Our annual Christmas tree hunt was a bit nippy this year. Hence the lack of pictures.

Cole was tough and sledded for an hour or so.
Ben was game for the cold as long as it meant a ride on the 4-wheeler.
And if you peek in the front seat of the truck, you'll see how Annie spent all but 5 minutes of the adventure - chillin' with in the truck with Grandma Rose and eating snacks. She doesn't love the cold.

Carolina in My Mind

We have a big anniversary coming up next month (10!). We spent our third anniversary in the hospital welcoming our oldest into the world and since then, our anniversary celebrations have been a bit lackluster. We decided to take an early anniversary trip this year and visited North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia for a few days. No kids. Not a frequent event at our house. Floyd has spent a lot of time in this part of the country, but it was my first time visiting the Carolinas. We started out in Charlotte and apparently there were some serious tornadoes the day we got there, but we missed them. From there, we drove to Myrtle Beach, which is a ghost town this time of year. There was nobody on the beach and pretty much all the stores were closed. It was still pretty though.

Our next stop was Charleston. I loved all the old architecture in the city and wanted to read the signs on all the buildings to find out how old they were - mostly to know if they were pre-civil-war (or antebellum if I'm acting smart). Meanwhile, Floyd read all the menus that were posted in the restaurant windows. Not sure what that says about us.

While in Charleston, we took a boat ride out to Fort Sumter (where the Civil War began in case you haven't had U.S. History for a bit - Floyd and I had a teensy disagreement about just how common of knowledge that particular tidbit is).

It was pretty cool to go there. The fort takes us pretty much the whole island. It wasn't really even an island before they hauled in loads of rocks to build it up and build the fort over a century ago. What really amazed me was how far from land Fort Sumter was and trying to imagine that 150 years ago there were cannons and guns capable of firing that far. I can't even hit a pop can 25 yards away with today's weapons. Sniper I am not.

Did you know I have a great-grandfather that fought in the Civil War? Yep, I do. William Blaylock. He was from Mississippi, fought for the Confederacy, and was killed in battle.
That's part of a bomb that got stuck in the wall. There were lots of them. The bricks were made by slaves, and after the Confederates took Fort Sumter, they had slaves there continually working to rebuild it and reinforce it. Later in the war, Fort Sumter was home of the longest siege in U.S. Military history when the Union forces tried for over two years to retake the fort. They didn't succeed until the very end of the war.

We also toured the U.S.S. Yorktown, a retired aircraft carrier harbored in Charleston. That wasn't really part of our trip plan, but it was at the same dock as our Fort Sumter boat, and Floyd was like a little boy looking at that big ship with all the cool airplanes on top. It was a pretty cool tour.

We learned that the Air Force recruitment officers were correct in informing Floyd that he is too tall to be a pilot. Unless he doesn't mind ducking all the time. While aboard the ship, I kept trying to identify a military job I would be brave enough for, since I know I would never cut it in combat duty. I decided I could be either the runway flagman or work in the radio control room. Then Floyd kindly pointed out that in reality, my job would have been in the kitchen cooking pastries and "entertaining" the troops. Meanwhile, Floyd is convinced that his military role would have been that of sniper.

We toured a submarine too. Turns out we are both a little too large for life in the submarine. Or maybe I'm just too claustrophobic. Hard to say...

Before we left Charleston, we walked around the old part of the city some more and it made me want to watch Gone with the Wind. Also made me want a porch.

That evening, we drove to Hilton Head and ate some good seafood. Up to Floyd's high standards even. Then we took a nice walk on another deserted beach. I woke up the next morning and went for a run on the beach at sunrise. I could get addicted to that. Hilton Head was really beautiful and we wished that we had more time to spend there.

We drove into Savannah, which I think is Floyd's favorite city. I think he was mostly excited for me to taste the pralines right when they are warm. He was right. They were delicious.

We found Floyd street! Yeah!

This is the spot where Forrest Gump is sitting on the bench in the movie. Only the bench isn't still there. I don't know why. Nor do I know why Floyd was wearing his flip-flops whilst walking around Savannah. They were not quiet - quite flippy, actually.We drove from Savannah to Tybee Island (super close). While there, we rented some bikes and went for a ride on the beach. I think this was my favorite part of the trip. It was gorgeous and loads of fun.
And that's a wrap! Happy Anniversary, Floyd. I had a great trip.

Flashback Friday: Veteran's Day Edition

When I was a senior in high school, I went to Washington D.C. for a week with a group from my school. We happened to be there during the week of elections and Veteran's Day - a pretty good time to be in D.C. Aside from freezing the entire week, I had a really great time. We went to a play at Ford's Theater. We toured the Capitol. We visited Williamsburg. We hung out at the Smithsonian. We became pros at public transportation. We drove past the D.C. temple all it up. We visited monuments and memorials aplenty.

Not really great pictures, but I like them because this is my favorite memorial and the picture below gives you an idea of how massive it is.

My favorite place was probably Arlington Cemetery. I'm a bit weird, but in general I really like cemeteries. I think they are really peaceful and sacred. Arlington is no different, but it has an extra power. I'm not sure I've ever been somewhere that felt so reverent.

I took a couple of pictures during the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After I snapped one, I reached the end of the roll and my camera rewound. It was so embarrassingly loud amid the silence of that ceremony. I still look back at that moment with complete chagrin - and with a wish that digital cameras would have been around back then.
A few weeks ago, I checked out a collection of poems at the library. I liked it so much that I bought myself a copy. One of the poems in the collection is In Flanders Fields, a poem President Monson often recites and which I love. One night as I was reading it, I noticed that the collection also includes three replies to this poem. I might have cried a bit while I read them and forced Floyd to listen while I recited them to him. In honor of Veteran's Day, here are all four of the poems:

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

--John McRae


Reply to In Flanders Fields

Oh! Sleep in peace where poppies grow;
The torch your falling hands let go
Was caught by us, again held high,
A beacon light in Flanders sky
That dims the stars to those below.
You are the dead, you held the foe,
And ere the poppies cease to blow,
We'll prove our faith in you who lie
In Flanders Fields.

Oh! Rest in peace, we quickly go
To you who bravely died, and know
In other fields was heard the cry,
For freedom's cause, of you who lie,
So still asleep where poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.

As in rumbling sound, to and fro,
The lightning flashes, sky aglow,
The mighty hosts appear, and high
Above the din of battle cry,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below,
Are fearless hearts who fight the foe,
And guard the place where poppies grow.
Oh! Sleep in peace, all you who lie
In Flanders Fields.

And still the poppies gently blow,
Between the crosses, row on row.
The larks, still bravely soaring high,
Are singing now their lullaby
To you who sleep where poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

-John Mitchell


Another Reply to In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the cannons boom,
And fitful flashes light the gloom;
While up above, like eagles, fly
The fierce destroyers of the sky;
With stains the earth wherein you lie
Is redder than the poppy bloom,
In Flanders Fields
Sleep on, ye brave! The shrieking shell,
The quaking trench, the startling yell,
The fury of the battle hell
Shall wake you not, for all is well;
Sleep peacefully, for all is well.
Your flaming torch aloft we bear,
With burning heart and oath we swear
To keep the faith, to fight it through,
To crush the foe, or sleep with you,
In Flanders Fields.

-J.A. Armstrong

America's Answer

Rest ye in peace, ye Flanders dead.
The fight that ye so bravely led
We've taken up. And we will keep
True faith with you who lie asleep
With each a cross to mark his bed,
In Flanders fields.

Fear not that ye have died for naught.
The torch ye threw to us we caught.
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And Freedom's light shall never die!
We've learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders fields.

-R.W. Lilliard

When I think of war, I think of my grandpa who left a young wife and four small children when called to service during World War II. I absolutely cannot fathom sending my husband off to war while I stayed home with our young children. Thankfully, he never was sent to combat and came home safely. The faith and courage of service men and women is amazing and today, I just want to say thanks.

Happy Halloween

It turns out, making kids pose for pictures while they are anxious to head out trick-or-treating does not make for the best pictures. Despite that, we had a great time, especially Ben. He kept a couple treats clutched in his little hands and had the hardest time choosing a treat at every house. He loved it and caught right on. Halloween even inspired his first two-word sentence ("No. Mine") when mommy tried to take away one of his goodies.

Monkey

Princess (of course)

Grim Reaper (Cole always leans towards the scary side of Halloween)

The Whole Gang

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Learning New Words

I betcha thought this post would be about Ben, but no. He's still not talking much unless something happens to be "hot." Then he'll talk your ear off telling you about how "hot" it is. It's his favorite word by a landslide. This post is actually about little Annie Rose, bless her heart. The other day, I was gone and Floyd had some serious butchering to get done (gotta love hunting season...I guess), so the kidlets were babysat for a bit by the TV. When the show was over, Annie came and found Floyd and said, "Dad, that boy never did get diarrhea." Floyd was awfully confused, so Annie just repeated, "He never did get diarrhea," at which point Cole called from the other room, "Annie, it's 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid,' not 'Diarrhea of a Wimpy Kid.'"

Although I bet you'd all like to see the latter, right?