March Missive

He asked & asked, but I said NO. I should have put it in writing!
'Cause somehow he convinced me, now my nails I can't stop biting.
I'm pretty sure he drugged me, why else would I agree?
To let him buy a red fast bike; a Honda Seven-Fifty?
If anyone deserves it, it's the father of our kiddo.
But I told him I will kill him, if he makes me a widow.

Deacon's learned some painful tricks, he's such a little vandal.
He lifts my shirt, bares his teeth, and BITES on my love handle!
He too, has had some pain, and it makes my face go pale.
He cut his hand, has a shiner, and almost lost a toenail.
I'd like to say it all happened, under daddy's watchful eye.
But if you guess who took the pics, you know that is a lie.

He tripped while walking and hit his eye, dropped a can of corn on his toe, and grabbed his formula lid from the trash and cut his finger.

I went to the dry-pack cannery, to volunteer one night.
I didn't get "the memo" and was met with quite a sight---
Everyone had a partner (the one for "all eternity")
I guess it was Mormon Date Night, for everyone but me.
We sorted beans, and rice, and oats. We packed a ton of wheat.

I rocked that required hairnet, with booties on my feet.

03/30/2008 Dear Diary,

Warning: long journal entry Ü

Thursday:

I had to start with Thursday because I don't remember what happened Mon-Wed, which is why I'm committing to start writing more things down in our online journal. That and my visiting teachers asked me what I do all day and I didn't really have an answer. Oh yeah! My visiting teachers came Wednesday morning and then I went visiting teaching Wednesday afternoon. There's Wednesday for ya.

Okay, back to Thursday: we went to visit Nathan's Aunt Collette to finally deliver some canning jars that we've had since Christmas (yikes!). As always, she traded us a bunch of empty jars for some jars filled with homemade salsa, grape juice, etc.---sounds like a fair trade, right? Collette has three dogs, I don't know their names so I call them small dog, medium dog, and large dog.
The large dog is a Doberman and she/he/it started licking Deacon, which grossed me out, but made Deacon giggle like I've never heard before. We caught it on video, does anyone know how to upload video to their blog? Oh wait, nobody is reading this because I scared them away with the whole disclaimer thing...Deacon and Collette with Large Dog while Medium Dog looks on from behind

After Collette's we went to KFC. This might not seem worth mentioning, but this is The World's First KFC! Still not impressed? It's the only KFC I've ever been to with an all-you-can-eat buffet. Mmmm...coleslaw, mashed potatoes with gravy, biscuits, chicken, and more. It is also part museum so it is the fanciest one you'll ever visit. Plus, only in Utah do they decorate fast food joints with vinyl lettering and words like "...honesty, integrity, and charity":Nathan and Miken (on the phone). Notice the fancy sconces and granite surrounding the leather booths? I told you it was nice, you should come visit me so you can see it Ü
Deacon posing with Brother Sanders and Brother Harmon. What?! You didn't know Colonel Sanders was Mormon? Ha, Ha. Just kidding.

Friday:

I took Deacon to the doctor because his cough is getting much worse. She said his ears were 'shiny' (huh?) and prescribed an antibiotic. He somehow managed to grab the tongue depressor from her and promptly threw it on the floor. Then he looked at her, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Uh-oh!" (That's his new thing, throwing food on the floor and acting like it was an accident).

We held Achievement Days later that afternoon and actually had three out of eight girls show up! I'm likin' those odds, and am NOT complaining. They are all itsy, bitsy, teenie, tiny, little girls, and yet they managed to pack away 32 cookies! *Sigh* Those were the days.....

Nathan stayed late at the hospital to cover another tech during the surgery shift. I forgot to write about the nice little "pat on the back" he got during a staff meeting last week. They had him stand up and they specifically mentioned how busy he was on a certain Friday night and that he finished all the work himself and didn't page the on-call person (he later confided to me that he kinda forgot that was an option). Still, he is a very hard worker and has been getting noticed for it. Anyway, on his way home a picked up a Red Box--Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? It was late on Friday, so the pickin's were slim---but we actually enjoyed it. Janet Jackson had a starring role and she did well.

Saturday:*dramatization

I was feeling miserable and was going to stay home from work, but I've been with my company for over 6 years and have never taken a sick day or had an unexcused absence---and boy, do I mention it every March when it's time for a raise Ü (Hey, when you only work 18 hours a week, you have to focus on the positive).

Anyway, going to work is my way of sticking it to the man. I'd rather use my sick days to go on vacation or take a trip, not be miserable in bed. Note: I've since decided that it is rude to go to work sick and infect others, but nobody else is in on Saturday, so I went. Luckily, I only had to work 4 hours and spoke with only 14 people---and no conversation lasted over 2 minutes....except the lady who's husband made her quit her job 21 years ago to care for their disabled daughter only to have him walk out on Easter morning. She was going to try to live off a $30k Rollover IRA for the rest of her life rather than spend money on a divorce! I told her to sue him! (haha, watch out Nate Ü) Sometimes I give more legal advice than financial advice. Oh yeah, I also had to explain to a different woman that we are not the IRS, so...#1: I couldn't give her any tax advice, and #2: she wouldn't want it from us in the first place! I had a co-worker who was "100% positive" that I could deduct Deacon off our 2006 tax return because I was pregnant 6 out of 12 months---even though he wasn't born and given a SS# until 2007. Yeah, he no longer works for us.....

Sunday:

Nathan did his home teaching today. He also decided to walk to church....which is nuts, because this is an up-to-the-hour picture of what the weather is right now:Yes, those are snowflakes falling, and there is actually a really big mountain in the background that is covered by all the fog. But he took off walking, wearing a shirt, tie, slacks, nice shoes....and a big ol' Alaskan Parka with the hood over his head and face.

I Have A Blurker...

Blurker

1. noun. One who reads many blogs but leaves no evidence of themselves, such as comments, behind; a silent observer of blogs.

2. noun. One who reads many blogs but has no blog of their own; a blog-watcher or blog voyeur.

Well, I found out who it is!

*

*

*

*

*

*

Yes, it is my own husband. He accidentally outed himself last week when he said, "How come you changed the blog to that boring background?" Pishaw! I would describe the background as "simple, yet classy" but that is beside the point--when does he read the blog? He admitted that sometimes he gets 'bored' when he is at the hospital all night, and that's when he reads it. Hmmm...bored?.....I don't think he's getting an invite when "we" go private...

Mystery.....Solved!

Here is the mystery:Last week, I went to switch the laundry to the dryer and found an unopened can of food in the washing machine! The label washed off, so I'm not sure what it is. Maybe I'll put it in our 72 hour kit? That way, when the end of the world comes, we will have a fun game to pass the time. "Guess What's For Dinner"....are we having corn? Chili? Sauerkraut? Anyway, that's not the mystery. The mystery is How Did It Get There?
*
*
*
*
Later that afternoon, I found out. We keep a laundry basket in the pantry for bibs and hand towels. I guess "Mama's Little Helper" was taking cans off the shelf and putting them in the hamper.He's also fond of putting silverware and cups in the trash can.

Okay, if you've read this far, then you must be related to me and/or not too bored of all the posts about Deacon, so I will let you in on a little secret: we are setting our blog to private. I had already set it to private last night, when I was informed via a very threatening email (ahem, Heather Ü) that you can't just set it to private, you have to make an announcement and collect emails. I conferred with Nathan and he agreed that is the proper blogetiquette :) So if you haven't already received an invite, it means I don't have your email. You can leave it in a comment, or you can email me directly: aubreyqhunt AT gmail DOT com (don't forget the 'Q').

To Charlie, From Deacon:

Happy Birthday Charlie, Charlie-Barlie, Char-Char!

Happy Easter!

The mailman brought Deacon an early Easter treat from Gma Gavin

Ha, Ha. I just noticed the toothbrush in his other hand...fitting?

He also got the cutest card from Gma/Gpa Hunt, but I didn't let him suck on the 'prize' inside Ü


You may wonder what the next few pictures have to do with Easter....Well, some families celebrate by decorating and hunting for eggs, then follow up with a nice ham and potato dinner. But the Easter Bunny skipped our house this year---so we celebrated by eating Navajo Tacos and giving Deacon his first haircut.
(I don't think we can get away with a treat-less, egg-less Easter next year; and I have warned Nathan that I am making cutesy matching ties for him and Deacon to wear to church).

BEFORE


HALF WAY
AFTER

I know, he doesn't look like my little boy anymore : (
I went to get him out of his crib this morning and did a double take, because I forgot what we did.

The Many Faces of Deacon

I got him to pose 8 different times for the camera doing this. If only he would sit still and pose that many times when I'm trying to take a pic of him in his Sunday best!

Happy Anniversary!

Tomorrow is the 34th anniversary of the first time my parents were married (haha, little joke:) They met when they just were teenagers---who knew it was possible to find true love in little 'ol Kingman? They're great examples of working hard and supporting each other's dreams. Their love for each other spills over and there's more than enough for their children too. Thank you for being great parents! SWATS!!!

All because two people fell in love.....

1986

1989

1994

1996

1997

1998

2007

Like Father, Like Son

Even though my boys are 26 years apart, you wouldn't believe how much they have in common. I was updating pictures in Deacon's baby album and all I could think was, "Like Father, Like Son" Ü

They were both born in April:
They both love their fast rides:
They both love bath time:

(Nate, don't be mad! Ü)

They both look good in shades:

They both look good in blue:

They have the same taste in clothes:

Both love playing with pots & pans:

I love my boys!

See? It's perfectly normal to blog in your underwear!

(click to enlarge)

Happy Birthday To My Car---Georgia

Aubrey and Georgia in 2001

Today, Georgia turned 140,000 miles. This month is also the 7 year anniversary of when she came into my life. She was brave to come with me, considering what happened to George (her namesake), just two months earlier. It mays seem weird to do a post about my car, but we've been through a lot these last 80,000 miles:

-On October 16th, 2002, she was stolen out of the Institute parking lot next to Glendale Community College. Yes, I left the keys in the door, she has forgiven me. Luckily, she was found two days later with nothing worse than a burrito stain on the passenger seat and all her radio pre-sets had been programed to Spanish stations.

-On January 12th, 2003, Nathan and I packed whatever we could in her backseat and trunk, and took off driving to Utah for our new life together. Since then, she has made the trip back and forth to Arizona several times with no issues.


-In the Fall of 2004, she was hit by the campus shuttle bus at Weber State. It sounds worse than it was. The accident only resulted in a two inch scrape on her bumper that didn't even take off the top layer of paint. Still, Nathan had to chase down the bus driver because he tried to leave. We were also lucky that, even though Nate had parked her in a handicap spot, Weber still gave us a check for $200 to repair the scratch....which we never did.

-Over an 18 month period in 2005 & 2006, we ended up replacing her windshield 3 times.

-In August of 2007, our neighbor backed into the passenger rear door and created a mess out of the bumper. His insurance took care of everything, including the embarrassing mini van I had to drive for 3 weeks while Georgia was repaired.

-In December of 2007, we were visiting Grandma Holyoak in Kingman and Nate was unaware of the low rock wall in her yard and backed into it...again, no damage!

Amazingly, she is in great condition with no visible scratches or dents. I'm very thankful for my car. It's been a blessing to have sturdy, reliable transportation that we've never had any mechanical trouble with. The insurance rates are nice too! I'm hoping she will be Deacon's first car when he turns 16.