THE KILLERS

Tonight was the night that I finally understood how those 13 year old girls felt when The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. You have seen the footage of the screaming and the tears and the hyperventilating. I will admit when THE KILLERS first took the stage some tears were shed, they were mostly just hormonal, but I was truly overwrought with excitement. But let me start from the beginning. As we approached the Patriot Center I spotted the Band's buses parked in the back. Of course, I made Scott take a detour so that we could scope out the buses. I got as close as possible when a friendly security guard gave me the smile and wave look that said not one more step. So, I headed back up the hill when I noticed a white hand sticking out of one of the windows. I crept back down the icy hill towards the buses to take a closer look and their he was Brandon himself (the lead singer). He flicked his hand in my direction, either waving at me or getting something nasty off his fingers but either way I was pumped. It was awesome! I snapped some pictures that didn't turn out before the security guard gave me a less friendly look and I scurried back up the hill.

Luckily, we arrived very early to the concert because when I am nervous and excited I tend to have to use the bathroom a lot, okay a total of 5 times in the hour prior to the concert. Afraid to miss anything I hurried a bit too much on one of these trips and dropped my ticket into the toilet and then tore my pants. No harm done, I gladly fished the ticket out of the toilet and pulled my shirt a little further down over my torn pants-it's dark at concerts anyway, right? Fortunately most of my normal body functions shut down due to overwhelming enthusiasm during the actual concert, so I was able to see it without any annoying interruptions.

The concert was incredible. The guys sounded amazing. They sang for two solid hours. We had front row seats and we were perched right next to where the band approached and entered the stage so we could see them before anyone else. That made me feel very special! I screamed and jumped, and danced really badly, and sang as loud as I could. I have no doubt that the evening was very unpleasant for those sitting near me, but this was my most anticipated night and I didn't really care! We were so close I am almost positive that Brandon and I made eye contact several times. Although he might have wanted to keep an eye on me because he saw me lurking around his tour bus earlier in the evening. Anyway, it was a great night only nearly marred by some psycho who jumped on the stage and had to be manhandled off again. I know what you are thinking, but it wasn't me.

This evening was probably as close as I will ever get to the stage of my ROCK STAR dreams, but for now I am satisfied. Goodbye for tonight, I must run and repent of my idol worshipping ways.

Wally and the Beav's Snow Day!

It finally came! After a super cold, super dry winter, we finally got our first snow yesterday and because I wasn't forced to drive in it, I thought it was beautiful. The boys were very excited and we had great fun playing in the snow all afternoon. Unfortunately, all of our attempts at making a snowman were thwarted by Naughty Nash. We would begin and he would rush over to kick it and yell, "timber!" The snow combined with Winter X games made me homesick for Colorado and rekindled that ski fever in me. I can't wait until Atley and Nash are old enough to hit the slopes!

Bad Combinations

What do you get when you cross Nash with the following items?
The dryer and...
crayons?
Ruined Sunday Clothes and Underwear!

The central vacuum outlet and...

Atley's Matchbox Cars...

A very angry big brother because at least 10 of his cars have now disappeared into the vacuum abyss never to be seen again!

(Atley was too angry and bitter to be photographed in his rage)

Thanks George Dub-yah

No, we didn't brave the cold or the record crowds to attend the inauguration. Instead, we stayed tucked in our warm house about 6 miles from the Capitol Building. However, we were privy to the sights and sounds of the many low-flying military helicopters and various aircraft hovering in our area and all around D.C. This was especially exciting for the boys.

I was disappointed with the "boos" and catcalls I heard when President Bush was announced on the Capitol platform. I further disapproved of the subtle digs displayed in the speeches of Senator Feinstein and President Obama. Since the battle for Obama has produced a victory for him and his supporters, I mistakenly believed that a semblance of class would be demonstrated by these individuals. However, I was impressed with the grace and dignity of the Bush family as they bid a final farewell to Washington, embracing their predecessors and appearing to have a clean conscience regarding what lay behind them.

I will be the first to admit that Bush's presidency was not perfect. There were definitely mistakes made. We are in a mess of a war and the economy is horrendous. I need look no further than to my overpriced, over mortgaged, unwanted home in southern Arizona for the evidence of a failing economy. Yet, I do feel I owe President Bush a debt of gratitude. He accomplished the three tasks that mean the most to me as an American. He kept us safe after 9/11, he upheld the sanctity of marriage, and he stood strong on his value of human life with his anti-abortion position. I appreciate his acknowledgement of God's hand in his daily life and respect the choices he made as our commander and chief. I wish President Obama well and I truly hope he can establish the utopia that so many believe he has the ability to create. I respect the office of president and pray for the safety and guidance of any human being crazy enough to aspire to such a position.

Thank you President Bush, we will miss you in Washington. Unfortunately, we might be the only ones.

3 Days Without Water

Please allow me to preface everything I am about to write by saying that I am not 100% prepared with my food storage, nothing demonstrates this more than the fact that Nash had to wear swim diapers to church yesterday because we ran out of the real thing and I had already depleted my storage supply without replenishing it. Also if you have heard the following story skip this paragraph and move to the end.

Soon after we moved to Arizona, Hurricane Katrina devastated the southeast. For the first time in our married life Scott and I felt a great need to be better prepared. We made a decision that we would create a list and buy everything our family needed for our 72 hour kits. We pulled information off of the church website, the American red cross, and various other sites and were surprised at how long our list had become. Not feeling discouraged by the long list of needed items I set out one morning with the goal to buy everything on our list. I understand that most people take their time in situations like this, buying a little here and a little there, but we really felt prompted to get this in order as soon as possible. After all the items were purchased and the cashier announced the total, my first reaction was shock at the cost and as I pushed my enormous cart to my car I next felt a little depressed. I couldn't believe I had spent that much money on stuff I would most likely never use. I spent the remainder of the car ride home thinking of all the shoes I could have bought with that money. Upon returning to the house with my bad attitude in tote I picked up the mail. There were two mysterious envelopes in our box that day. I opened them and discovered two checks for bills I had somehow overpaid. This was amazing considering I can barely remember to pay our bills let alone over-pay them somehow. But, the real miracle was when I added the sum of the two unexpected checks together their total came to almost the exact amount that I had spent on the items for our 72 hour kits. Despite my horrible attitude we were receiving a tremendous blessing for our obedience. I gained a testimony of the importance of emergency preparedness that day and that testimony has never left me. We have found ourselves using the items from our 72 hour kits more than I expected. For instance last summer tornadoes in our area caused the kids and I to retreat to the basement where we snacked on our food storage food, used the radio in our 72 hour kit, and of course the flash lights and extra batteries as we were without power for about 36 hours.

After we moved to Washington D.C. we were more than aware of the catastrophic events that could happen in this area so we got even more serious about our emergency preparedness. Almost immediately we purchased two big blue barrels that we filled with water. It was these barrels that made our weekend bearable. Thursday D.C. experienced its coldest night in more than a decade and our pipes froze. We woke up to no water and no chance of a thaw for several days. It was so comforting to know that we would be okay. There was no need to try to find a Hotel Room, plus that task would have been impossible with the Coronation of King Barack--oh, I'm sorry, I mean the inauguration of President Obama in our midst. We would be okay. Thankfully, Sunday after church the weather warmed enough to thaw our stuck pipes and we again have water. The weekend was a good trial run for the difficulties that may lie ahead for many of us. Scott is sore from hauling buckets up from the basement stairs for me to boil for baths and dishes and I am so glad that my dishwasher is now working. We are all thankful that we live in these modern times and have a renewed resolve to be even more prepared for the unexpected. I have learned more than once that emergency preparedness is not only for the calamitous events that could arise in life such as hurricanes and earthquakes but also and perhaps more importantly for the little emergencies that seem to happen in our daily life. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be safe, comfortable, and happy. This is why he has asked us to be prepared and self-sufficient. I hope you will all join me this New Year in trying to be better equipped for the unanticipated. That's all for now! I am off to buy diapers, many of them!

The Butler Bucket Brigade

My feelings today!

Take a deep breath! This may take awhile!

First, I am a little annoyed. Today while waiting in the line with the other moms at preschool, several started talking about shopping. You all know I am a confessed shop-aholic and would usually be eager to join the conversation, but not today. The ladies began to talk about how they only buy their "preschool" children name-brands. They were convinced it builds confidence in young children. Personally I don't think young children should even understand the concept of name-brands and if they do something is seriously wrong with society. Anyway, one mother got a smokin' deal at Nordstroms on Ugg boots for girls. They were marked down to $90 so she bought her three year-old four pair, each in a different color. WHAT A BARGAIN!!! Another mother found her son a NorthFace jacket for $140 so she bought two, one for this year and one for next. Hopefully, it won't be out of style for kindergarten. They then began discussing the places they would not shop. I won't list all of the forbidden stores but Old Navy was on the top of the list. Within minutes Atley came out of his classroom displaying his Old Navy T-Shirt and tons of confidence. I hope they felt stupid. Sorry, I guess I am being immature.

Second, I am confused. Can you find a library book on Facebook etiquette? Okay, so about a month ago Scott signed me up for Facebook, like I need another distraction. And while I think it is mostly pretty cool, there are some things I am finding odd. Scott assured me that if you know the person you should just allow them to be your friend. It's the nice thing to do! That advice was fine for awhile, but now I am getting strange friend requests. Granted I might know the people but they are people like your distant cousin's, ex-husband's, great-uncle. WEIRD! But, I feel totally guilty not allowing them to be my friend. Also when do you know if you should really request someone to be your friend? I mean let's say you knew each other in high-school and you bugged each other then, won't you still bug each other 12 years later. And what's the rule on old boyfriends? I mean I am perfectly unsentimental about my past relationships but I can't say the same about Scott's crazy old girlfriends. I am pretty sure I should be allowed to have old boyfriend "friends" but Scott should not be allowed old girlfriend "friends." Seems Fair! Next, what if you have allowed some friendships and then you realize that these people you once knew and even liked have morphed into something more than a little spooky. You know the type that post weird pictures of themselves and use profanity on their posts. This makes me super uncomfortable especially since my Bishop just asked to be my friend on Facebook. It's all just too much for me! I CAN'T HANDLE THE FACEBOOK DRAMA!

Third, I am feeling inspired. I am not into self-help books. They just leave me feeling like a failure. I am sure that most of these self-help book writers are in cahoots with the same people who manufacture Prozac and Zoloft. But, I just finished a relatively old book called, The Greatest Salesman in the World, by Og Mandino. I highly recommend it. It is short and well, inspiring.

Fourth, I am feeling the love for vacation again. I maintain a love/hate relationship with vacations. The hate stems from my need for a schedule in life and especially in the life of my children. Because vacations always get us out of our routine,our family always gets sick on vacation. (See blog posts for New York trip, Williamsburg trip, Colorado trip for proof) Our trip to Georgia was no exception. Although we have been home for 9 days, we are still healing from our sicknesses. Because of the sickness I was hating vacation alot last week and to make matters worse while on vacation my boys were allowed to sleep in the same bed. Upon returning home they refused to sleep in their own beds. Nash would cry, "Need Atley!" Atley would cry, "But, I love Nash so much!" So, they spent two nights on the floor in Atley's room, one night in the same bed in Nash's room, a couple of nights in a make-shift crib/bed in Nash's room, and all of those nights were sleepless nights for them and me. But now that we have worked the kinks out, the boys are sleeping again, now in the same room. I am actually grateful that they want to be together. There is something sweet about it. Therefore, I love vacations again, until the next one anyway.

New Business Venture

People pay a pretty penny to have some guy come and inspect their home. Whether they are thinking about purchasing or are concerned about the integrity of their current home, the goal of a home inspector is to ensure that this home is a good investment and/or structurally sound. But, if you want a pair of great home inspectors with real-world experience just call the Butler Brothers at 1-800-DIS-ASTER.

Their mother will promptly drop them off and it should only take about one hour for you to determine whether your prospective purchase or even your current home will last through even the worst natural disasters. Did I mention that they work cheap? Atley only requires a quarter per visit and Nash will work for food. The following are just a few of their specialities-all of which have been demonstrated with great proficiency in our own home this week.

1. The Butler Brothers are excellent at inspecting cabinetry. They do this by climbing on and in all cabinets to test their strength and quality. Their specialty is a Lazy Susan strength and speed challenge. This experiment is conducted by emptying the cabinet of all contents. Then the boys will climb in, each on a different level and spin as quickly as possible. If the cabinet, all Lazy Susan mechanisms, and both children are still in one piece, your cabinet passed with flying colors.

2. Testing the durability of door handles. The boys have super-human strength and will pull off any handle that is not installed properly.

3. The quality of your plumbing will be tested by flushing various items down your toilet including, but not limited to diapers, pencils, blocks, and matchbox cars. In addition to this plumbing test, Nash will poop in the bathtub and then proceed to push his waste down the drain.

4. Is your wood floor properly sealed? The Butler Brothers will determine this by spilling a large amount of Clorox upon it.

5. Should you really spring for the scotch guard protection on your new carpeting? They can show you if this investment is worth your hard earned dollars by spilling chocolate milk and blueberry juice upon it.

6. Should you purchase a home painted with "scrubable" paint? The Butler Brothers can easily test the quality of your paint with a number of tests or should I say disgusting experiments.

New Year's in Georgia

We traveled back to our old stompin' grounds for New Year's, that's right, back to Atlanta! This time we drove the 11 hours south. Boy, that was fun! But,we did have a great time with Scott's family. All the Butler's were present, which made for a pretty full and noisy house. We enjoyed the New Year by visiting the Georgia Aquarium, which I highly recommend to anyone traveling that direction. Scott had the chance to shoot his birthday/Christmas gift, a .357 Magnum. We felt like true "rednecks" shootin' our guns on New Year's! Check out the Sarah Palin pose! I thought of that myself. We hope all of you have a great 2009!