Happy Birthday Monica!

I've always looked up to my big sister, Monica. I wanted to be just like her (still do). Even though we are six years apart, I always fancied we could be twins.



She was tall. I was tall.



She had long beautiful hair. So I grew mine long too.





Even after she was married and moved out, she'd indulge me by wearing matching outfits (we had at least three matching church outfits for when she visited).



















Maybe I inspired her to adopt a few of her own sets of twins?



















Madison, Monica, Jim (holding Taylor and Kennedy) and Maci

Monica taught me all of the "important" things in life:

She taught me how to shave my legs without slicing an artery (she even bought me my first fancy razor and shaving cream for my 12th birthday).

She taught me how to curl my bangs up high to heaven.



















She taught me how to dress cool.















Monica on the right. Yes, it was in 2002. NOT 1982.

She's not heavy, she's my sister!



















I love you Monka! Happy Birthday!!!!

Sorry....I don't have a lot of embarrassing photos to post for her husband, Jim's birthday: it was yesterday. Happy Birthday Jim!!!

Easily Influenced By Others

I've never considered myself a follower. Yet lately I find myself doing whatever people suggest---people I don't even know!

I stumbled across a stranger's blog who suggested this book:

So I read it.



Another person---also a stranger---posted this recipe:

So I made it.



Different Blog. Different Recipe.

Made it.

Now if only I was so easily influenced by people I actually know....Nathan's sister, Ashley, said she's training for a triathlon.


So far I've been able to abstain from her peer pressure......Ü

Random Happenings Last Week

Random happenings and pictures of the last week or so...........

Nathan is always good about taking Deacon to the park behind our house. Here are some recent pics he took during a Rugby game they went to. You can almost see our house to the left of D's head.

Deacon discovered the kitchen utensil drawer, so now he always carries either a whisk or a spatula with him. Better wash it extra good after digging in this giant litter box.





Yay! For Mother's Day I got a new Bosch! Can you tell Nathan had help from his mom on that gift? (thanks mom!) Ü We weren't even home from AZ for 24 hours before Nathan made bread with it. I pretended to be mad for not being the first to use it; but really, I'll never complain about coming home to fresh bread from the oven.

Deacon is getting one of his back teeth, so he was very lethargic on Sunday with a fever. He wasn't cranky at all though and it was nice to have him sit still on my lap for the first hour and a half of church, I don't mind if he teethes every week! You can tell in these pics he is flushed and not very active. Really, I'm sad because he looks so pitiful : (



Last Tuesday, I waited until I got to work to call Nathan and tell him I scraped my car backing out of the garage. The first words out of his mouth were (as I heard him bounding down the stairs and ripping open the front door), "Is my motorcycle okay?" Um...yeah. And your WIFE is okay too...thanks for asking! Ü Here's Deac 'helping' him with the bike.

For youth group that night we had a Marshmallow War. I've never done it before and it was soooo fun! We had tiny PVC pipe cut into foot long strips and we shot mini-marshmallows out of them like poison dart guns. We went into the forest to do it, so it was just like real combat. Those things sting at close range!

On Wednesday Nate and I had dentist appointments. I took Deac outside and he kept going straight for the pothole in the parking lot---full of brown water. When we got home, there was a surprise in the mailbox, a $100 shopping spree to Ross. I don't enter a lot contests, but I was feeling pretty lucky after we won the Red Robin contest, so I entered both our names for this shopping spree last month and Nate won {but guess who really won...hahaha Ü}.

Saturday we had a little date night. Totally romantic, haha. Deacon & I shopped at Ross, while Nathan went to Lowes to buy a small freezer. The lady at Ross that redeemed Nathan's shopping spree said he was the last one to pick it up--but said it made sense since he was the only man that won Ü. What better way to end the post than a pic of me in one of my new outfits? Ü

Arizona, Part II

On Thursday, we saw The Island (not the movie). The island is in the middle of a private lake that is in the backyard of a family friend. That is where Nathan proposed to me. Allow me to reminisce:

It was December 11th, 2002, and I remember taking a paddle boat from the dock out to the island while Nate sang, "When the moon hits your eye....." like a gondolier. When we arrived to the island that day, there was a present wrapped & waiting for me. It was a new set of scriptures (my old set was in my car when it was stolen) and it was engraved with a new last name: Aubrey Hunt. Inside was a scripture chase that ended with Nathan popping the big question.

Romantic, right? And yet when I told Nathan I wanted to go back to the island for a nostalgic visit, he was like, "Why? It's covered in duck poop."

Glad to see he hasn't lost his romantic ways....

I tried to use Picasa technology to overlay pictures of us so that it looks like one picture. But it just turned into a picture of a giant woman next to her husband. Oh yeah, and they have twins.

Deacon was thiiiiis close to picking up a dead field mouse on the way over to the cows.

Then we headed over to the Gavin's to spend the second half of the week. Deacon got to ride with Grandpa on the golf cart while Nathan grilled up a special birthday dinner for Weston. Nate snapped a picture of Deacon and me taking a nap (we're still trying to get over the jet lag and the hour difference between AZ and UT).

That night we ditched the kid and went to the movies! We did a "double feature" which is where you see two movies in a row (of course you pay for both of them.....Ü). Anyway, Nathan usually isn't a fan of the double feature because he doesn't have time to 'digest' the first movie and ends up getting the plot mixed up with the second movie. He was okay this time though, because he said he would never confuse a chick flick like Baby Mama with a manly film like Iron Man.

Friday was a pool party with just the three of us. Nathan seemed a little down though. When I asked him why, he said, "I know it's his first time in a pool, but I really expected him to love it so much that he would just take off paddling all on his own." High expectations? Naw....

I love his serious face in this picture:

Chanda and her son Treyton came over Friday night and we all watched a movie.

On Saturday, Nate and I went to an Indian restaurant for lunch. After that....I don't really remember anything until Sunday evening. I know it was not food poisoning, but I was sick. I vaguely remember Nathan nudging me away from the sink and telling me NOT throw up there because, "the chunks are too hard to get out." He took good care of me Ü

Wait a minute......I threw up the last time we went to Arizona (but at the Hunt's house). Maybe our parents have Munchausen Syndrome and they are keeping me sick so that we never go back to Utah? Ü

On Sunday, Nathan and Deacon went to church with his parents and stayed for lunch.

His sister Carrie also came over and she is an excellent photographer so I borrowed these pics off her blog (I'll return them when I'm done Ü)

Sunday night we had a joint birthday party at the Gavin's for Weston, Nathan, and Deacon Ü. It was funny to sing Happy Birthday three times in a row while quickly switching out the numbered candles. The '1' in 17 for Weston was changed to a '2' to make it a 27 for Nathan, and back to a '1' all by itself for Deac.

I had a blast playing Electronic Monopoly with my sisters Chanda and Brenna and their husbands. Deacon had fun following Carla's kids around and pretending like he could keep up with them :)

Monday we drove home and Deacon was restless. I had to think of creative ways to distract him...so I let him braid my hair:

He always laughs because it tickles him
(don't try to look up my nostril, 'kay?)

It's so hot in Arizona, I don't know how we're going to move back there next year. Maybe we can convince our combined 14 siblings and both sets of parents to move here instead!

Way To Go Carca!

My oldest sister (Carla) had her short story selected as the weekly post for this website on May 20th. It's so cute!

You should go there and read it.
I'll wait right here.

*twiddles thumbs*
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Okay, you're back. So true, right? I think it applies to all women, and not just moms.