Curses, Foiled a Golem

We had a friend tag us with this... now we're obligated to do it, else that friend think that we really aren't friends and that we only speak to them because they take us to The Cheesecake Factory when we're in town-- (Luv ya, Juliet!). This one is a lot less than the one Cristtin did in September last year, but we promise to be wordy to make up for it.

Here goes...

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
- Mike: Not everyday I get to show you exactly what I did 10 years ago... but here it is in the graphic to your right. one. wake up; two. Magic III (forgot what they were... but it involved, bathing, eating, praying, studying scriptures, goals, and appts); three. Appt. w/ Rachel @ 10am on 484 Linwood; four, Weekly community service @ the Salvation Army. We made lunch for the homeless and it was the first time I had seen an automatic potato peeler. They played MTV and Run DMC's "It's like that" will always remember of Potato soup and chopped vegetables; five. remember Angie's Birthday!! (see, I didn't totally forget about my family) Click here to view the whole week... very nostalgic. Looks like we had a zone conference --Hey! That zone conference is the first time I met Sister Brandt!!
- Jessica: 1- Enjoying my senior year at Rigby High School. 2- Participating in Idaho All State Mixed Choir. 3- Going to Colorado Springs, CO on a choir invitational/competition. 4- Working at Chesbro Music Co. 5- Deciding if I wanted to go to college, and being talked into going to Ricks as a music major. It turned out to be a good choice.

5 Things on my to-do list today:
- Mike: one. Request payment from one of our contractors on a large Elementary school project .. meaning payment in March and good commission check in April; two. Have Final Fantasy Home Evening with Mr. Beers after kids in bed; three. Call to ensure BMC rejected our check so I can write a new one and be positive thegirl is all paid off; four. Set alarm for Jay because Visiting Teachers are coming over at an early (can't say un-godly, can I?) hour; five. fix myson's computer so he can play "e-eggo" (LEGO computer software)
- Jessica: 1- Laundry, the endless chore. 2- Clean the living room and kitchen in preparation for company. 3- Try to get Emily to eat regular breakfast.. Cheerios or something. I'm sick of her turning down all real food. 4- Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party! 5- Sleep would be good.

Snacks I enjoy:
- Mike: (not in order) Swedish fish; Double Chocolate Fudge Cake from JitB (Although, they've renamed it since); Cookies & Mint Ice Cream (Leatherby's is still the best); Chocolate Cream Pie (an estimate for my next dental work was $3100)
- Jessica: Cheesecake!! Popcorn, chips, crackers, and any kind of ice cream.

Things I would do if I were a Billionaire:
- Mike: House, definitely (I'm sooo tired of shared walls); Buy my own company; Sports car.. not because I actually want one, but because I can have one; Create a family investment opportunity with my siblings.
- Jessica: Buy a house outright, Hire a chef/nutritionist, have more kids, start a music conservatory.

3 of my bad habits:
- Mike: one. My socks don't like to make it to the laundry closet; two. I blog while at work; three. A recent addition to the list: snoring. It's gotten to the point where I have to sleep on the couch for an hour so Jay can get to sleep, then I can come back in and sleep on the bed as long as I don't wake her up.
- Jessica: 1- I procrastinate everything. 2- I assume everyone thinks the worst of me and am always guarded around people, never letting them get to know the real me. 3- I'm very impatient. 4- I bite my nails. 5- I eat too much.
(See what I have to live with? We only had to put 3 but Jay put 5!!)

5 places I have lived:
- Mike: Why not list them all while I'm at it: Kearns UT, Rexburg ID, Johnsonville NZ, Tawa NZ, Christchurch NZ (Holy crap!! I just went to my Mission Alumni Website and I noticed my Alum ID is in the URL: http://www.mission.net/new-zealand/...alum_id=666 ... doh!), Dunedin NZ, Westport NZ, Nelson NZ, Ashburton NZ, Upper Hutt NZ, Dannevirke NZ, Hastings NZ, New Plymouth NZ, Fielding NZ, Idaho Falls ID, Shelley ID, Ammon ID, Boise ID, Meridian ID, and now Nampa ID.
- Jessica: Unlike Mike, I'll list only 5 and won't list how many multiple times I've lived in different houses in the same city. 1- Augsburg Germany. 2- Rigby Idaho. 3- Rexburg Idaho. 4- Idaho Falls Idaho. 5- Boise Idaho.

5 Jobs I’ve had:
- Mike: Boy, this can get pretty depressing: Leatherby's Family Creamery, Rocky Mountain something-or-other Cleaning (cleaned John Stockton's House.. he had bad water stains, IHC (paper person), Ricks College janitor, Ricks College Media Services A/V guy, Taco Bell (for 3 days), ICServ, Center Partners (the beginning of my Call Center years), ICServ again, Qwest, T-Mobile, now Sunshine Recreation, and Subway.
- Jessica: Abbotts Variety (checker and fabric department), Arctic Circle-Rigby (cashier), Chesbro Music Co. (graphic artist, wholesale filler, retail sales), Arctic Circle-Rexburg (cashier), Ricks College Music Department (tutor, paper grader, summer intern), Buyer's Market (sales), Western Watts (market research), Center Partners (customer service, loyalty and retention), Hancock Fabrics (clerk, seamstress, supervisor)

5 Things people probably don’t know about me:
- Mike: Five?! Man, that's hard. I can't even think of -- one. I dated mostly women with men's names: Ryan, Aaric. I didn't date much, so it's still considered as "most." two. The reason I call myson "myson" is because my old primary teacher did it to his son. Unfortunately, I only now know my primary teacher's name as "Nacho." His Hispanic accent made the two words flow very well, and since that time in CTR-whatever, I've loved it and have known I'd call myson myson when I had a son; three. My memory = my wife. I constantly ask here the names, dob's, age, grade level of my nieces and nephews, ward members, bishopric, past acquaintances. Jay is also the most amazing mike-translator. In a social conversation with friends on a particular topic, I will interject with something that is quite off-topic. Wife can then perfectly explain how my thought process connected the previous topic with the nonsense I had just expelled. This, also, is my gauge to know if our marriage is quite near harmony; four. I love the smell of petrol... also, I call gas "petrol;" five. I always told Jessica that if Lisa Hayes from Robotech came to life, I would have to leave her and marry Lisa. She foolishly agreed. That was just after we were married. Well, we renegotiated over 1 year ago. Seeing that there was a slim possibility the animated heart throb of my life might never join the world of flesh and bone, I decided to impose her namesake to be gifted upon our daughter. Yes, Emily Lisa Haddox is named after an 80's cartoon character.
- Jessica: Wow, this is hard. 1- I can't stand to have any pressure, even slight, put on any part of my body where a bone is close to the skin. Places like finger tips, toes, collarbone, hip. Seat belts are a real problem because they cut across the collar bone and hook at the hip. Even just the feel of a shirt that comes across my collarbone bugs me. 2- When I eat something with my fingers, every finger has to touch the food. Even an M&M. Every finger holds on to that tiny surface. One of my friends in school noticed this a few years ago. I didn't even realize I did it till then. 3- When I was in college, I had a pet bird. I got it over Christmas break because all my roommates were gone and I was alone. It's name was Dolce, which in musical terms means soft and sweet. The bird was very nervous and jumpy. When one of my roommates returned home after break, she rang the doorbell so she could surprise me at the door. The poor bird was so used to the house being quiet that it died when it heard the bell. 4- I'm mildly allergic to several soaps, dish detergents, laundry detergents, and lotions. 5- I love to play with tape. I don't know what it is. Mike has to make sure there are no rolls of tape lying out where I'll find them because I'll use up the whole thing wrapping my fingers and such. I love playing with tape! It's also fun to put on the bottom of the cat's feet. Hours of enjoyment!

Ok, The following people are tagged:
- Mike's picks: Samara, Yavid in hopes to get him to actually post on his blog again, Sarah (formerly Pope), Mum & Pooder.
- Jessica's Picks: Hilerie, because I'm curious to hear some of her answers, Sandi, because she's an interesting writer, and my mom, because I'd like to see her start her own blog.

I have the sweetest kids in the world!

We took a drive in the car a few days ago, and I turned around to look at the kids and saw this.


So sweet! I thought maybe it was just a one time thing, but since then, I've noticed they hold hands in the car every time we go out.


I'm so glad that they love each other so much. I hope they're always close even when they're grown up.

We got our taxes done and got a good amount back. It was really wonderful to pay off old hospital and doctor bills as well as paying back unemployment. We were able to pay off everything but our student loans. Mike was in a state of euphoria when he called me today to tell me he had paid off everything. I bought a new coat (I didn't have one before and was always stealing Mike's) and a phone (my old one had... issues) and Hyrum got a new booster car seat so Emily could upgrade to a forward facing seat. After all that, we still had a rather large chunk of money to put into savings. Maybe someday we'll be able to get back into a house again.

It's been cold here with lots more snow that you usually see in the Boise area. Mike loves it, but I could sure do without it. I'm just glad, after seeing the pictures Jen posted, that we don't live in Wyoming!

I really enjoyed watching the prophet's funeral. I thought it was really nice. I was hoping to find the closing song and video clips they showed, but I haven't been able to find it on youtube or the church website yet. I always liked that arrangement. Gotta love Wilburg! I was surprised today to see that Dieter F. Uchtdorf was appointed as the second counselor. I guess we'll have to wait to see who will fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the 12.

Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley Part II

Although Mike has already posted about this, I feel inclined to do the same. I had the unique opportunity to see the prophet in person on a few occasions. He wasn't very tall and he didn't have a commanding voice or attitude, but the power and spirit he carried with him into a room was something I can't even properly put into words. I remember when I was in high school, a smaller group from my choir got to go sing at the Church Administration Building. I was lucky enough to be a part of that group. We were told that we would be singing for a few general authorities, but that the prophet would most likely not be in Salt Lake during our visit. However, at the end of our little performance, from one of the office doors emerged the prophet with a large grin on his face. He greeted us, shook hands with a few, then returned to his meetings and work. Just that tiny little moment filled the room with such a spirit that it was almost tangible.

Having gone to college at Ricks gave many opportunities to see the prophet again. In my first year, all the choirs traveled to Salt Lake to sing in General Conference. Once again, the prophet spoke to us directly. Shortly after, we returned to Salt Lake for a performance in the tabernacle of Come Unto Christ, a specially commissioned oratorio by Merril Jensen as part of Ricks College's Sacred Music Project. Again, we were told not to expect the prophet. He would try to be there, but he was a very busy man. We sat waiting and warming up in a room called the horseshoe which sits beneath the tabernacle. As the name implies, it is horseshoe shaped and we were all facing forward listening to instructions from our director when the feeling in the room changed. Nobody said anything, yet we all could feel it and turned almost in unison to face the horseshoe bend. There was the prophet behind a little wall and surrounded by body guards. We sat there dumbstruck, but he had a sly little grin on his face and said with a chuckle, "Snuck up on you, didn't I?" He then told us that he knew that we were doing exactly what Heavenly Father wanted us to do. That this was where he wanted us. He told us to continue developing our musical talents and that the sacred music project we were doing would bring many people to the church and was one of the greatest works we would do in our lives. He then continued on, blessing us in our academic studies, in our music, in the church, and in our lives. There was such a feeling of power and love, and it spoke to me that this good man was certainly a servant of our Heavenly Father. Again, there was a similar experience when the choir sang at the dedication of the Hinckley Building on campus, although the joke then was that he wasn't sure if it was a compliment having a building named after him since you usually don't get that until after you're dead.

President Hinckley loved the church, loved all people, and loved Heavenly Father. In return, it was easy to love him. It's a sad feeling knowing that he's gone now, yet thinking back on those moments where I felt his strength, they were such incredible happy times. So although at first, I was feeling down, that's not the prevailing emotion. I find myself filled with happiness, strenth, hope, and love at the though of his life and of his work for the Lord. We truely are blessed to have such men at the head of our church.

Thank you, President Hinckley. We will miss you greately.

Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley

Thank you very much to mum who called me in Pennsylvania to inform me that President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley passed away at 7pm MST this evening.

It shouldn't have been surprising that he died at the age of 97, but to me and Jessica, it was. President Hinckley was so full of life, happiness, and initiative that he seemed far from passing away. Despite the limits of our mortal lives, we felt he was, as Jessica put it, "invincible."

My thoughts will be deep this evening and many nights to come. President Hinckley did many wonderful things for the church. It was his to bring the Mormon faith out of obscurity, giving many national interviews with Larry King and Tom Brokaw, building close relationships with the Pope and United States national leaders. He was also responsible for the building of Latter Day Saint Temples, which are used to perform sacred ordinances to bring man closer to God. Before being called as a prophet in 1995, there were 50 of these temples throughout the world. As of right now, there are 124, and many under development and construction.

But it wasn't the accomplishments he acheived that guides me to much reverance and personal thought to his passing away, but it was his love for life, his love for his wife, and his love for every person he met and didn't. He love was, noting to avoid cliche, unconditional. There was no man or woman in which he held contempt for.

I will write more of my trip at a later time, but right now is a time for my thoughts to be upon President Hinckley's, as he would say, "Marveous work" and ministry. It was The Christ he loved, and it was The Saviour in whom his mission was about. Might I be able to be one day such a man who thought nothing of himself, but everything of others. I know he was ordained for His ministry of service and that he had lived his life giving the message of the Gospel of Christ to the World.

I extend the invitiation to all who read to bring your thoughts to President Hinckley, his family, and Christ in whom he served.

A few days in Hershey, PA

8:03 PM me: So, can I tell you about what's happened over here?
Jessica: sure!
8:04 PM me: K, lemme move to the bed, my shoulder is killing me
8:05 PM Jessica: oh! wait!! I remember what it was I wanted to mention to you before
before I forget, I'd better tell you now
me: OK, go ahead
8:06 PM Jessica: so, there was this song that I remember from when I was a kid. Haven't thought about it in a long time, so it's kind of a coincidence this happened now, because I think (but I'm not sure) that it may have been on that same tape/record as all those other songs Angie put on the MP3
do you remember a song that went, "Hey (held out over 3 notes) won't somebody come and play with me?"
me: Yup
Jessica: etc.. had lines like "You be the good guy, I'll be the bad guy"
8:07 PM ok. was it on that same record?
me: Yeah, it was either a girl or a boy with a girly voice singing it
Jessica: sun's setting fast and we've only barely started..
yeah! so you totally remember it too! I knew I wasn't crazy
so anyhow, this morn..
right after Hyrum got on the bus, the tv was still on and Yo Gabba Gabba came on
8:08 PM and there it was! They played that song
redone, but it was that song
me: Really?? lol
Jessica: different singer and instrumentation, but the same tune and words
me: One of the creators must have remembered it :)
The earlier one was kinda hoke
Jessica: yeah, I couldn't believe it
8:09 PM Jessica: well, this kinda was too, but not as bad
8:11 PM me: Ready to hear what I've been up to?
Jessica: yes
me: Ok, so we took only 3 flights, 4 hours total in the air

me: We got here about 6:45ish
We went into the party room and they had games all over.
NEOS, of course, which I died of exhaustion on.. but also a racing arcade and pinball machines
8:13 PM they also had a green screen where they covered everything but your heads and then placed you on the projectors with pre-recorded dancing bodies
And also the beer was good
...kidding, but there was like, 4 cash bars
Jessica: oh, mom did that dancing thing at a CU party. she had a CD of it. was funny
8:14 PM me: Yeah, I was going to do it but I got pooped after 4 games on the NEOS
Jessica: lol
me: My legs are still feeling it, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to compete tomorrow
(no chance for winning the flat screen tv ; ;)
Jessica: you'd better!
I want those fabulous prizes!!
8:15 PM me: Yeah, I probably will -- but if it's a knockout competition... I won't be able to do more than 3 tries
Jessica: so position yourself at the end of the line so you only have to beat a few people, lol
me: lol, good idea!
8:16 PM Let them all lose out first, right?
Jessica: right!
and then the champ will be tired when he gets to you
me: Well, there are 24 year olds that obviously work out
Jessica: lol
me: Stupid health conscience people
So, that was last night
8:17 PM Today we had a sales meeting for the whole day.. they basically brought the "Fish!" people in
Jessica: lol fish.
8:18 PM me: I never really liked the "Fish" vision... all it is is telling people to think outside the box and have fun... then they blab about it with many motivational words
8:19 PM I also think it is for entry level people in sales and customer service... it was definitely the wrong target audience with so many people that had a lot of sales experience in that room
The first half went ok, because it was structured; but after lunch it tanked
8:20 PM They came back and said, "I heard some people tell us they had questions on how to overcome objections like price and competition. We're going to talk about that for 2 hours"
8:21 PM So all it was was people making scenarios on how to overcome objections.... It changed from a Vision statement to Sales 101 real fast, and you could tell a lot of people hated it
Then they rushed through the final slides on the PowerPoint just summarizing, all the while trying to make it a feel good experience.
8:22 PM I even was optimistic and participated quite a bit, but you could still tell it tanked, lol
Oh, well. I told playworld that
Wait... no I didn't
8:23 PM I WON'T tell Playworld that, since they obviously made the decision to do it and I don't want them to feel bad
I told the FISH people that in a comments/performance review sheet
Then, we went to chocolate world!! :D
Want to see some pictures?
8:24 PM Jessica: yeah
(but you should post a blog)
me: I will, but it's hard to find time
I will have plenty of time on Tuesday, maybe Sunday






8:25 PM I only had my phone to take pictures since I didn't think much would come from the event
8:26 PM Oh, the prop plane is in there
8:27 PM The Hershey kiss picture has a story
Ready?
Jessica: yeah
8:28 PM me: So, you know how dorky I am, right?
Jessica: wait
you're dorky?
me: Oh, yeah. You didn't know that, did you?
Jessica: really!?
me: I know my external appearance is that of pure perfect, professionalism, and beauty
But really, it's all a facade
8:29 PM Jessica: wow, you actually used the word facade right!
;)
me: perfection~ See? I even typo sometimes... very rarely, though
And the 3 other big words in that sentence!!?
8:30 PM Jessica: yeah.. I don't think you know what those mean
me: lol
Ok, so... I'm thinking I can get a good picture of the Hershey kiss looking like it fell on top and squashed me
8:31 PM So I asked ... "it" if it will drop on top of me. It gave me two thumbs up (because, you know.. Hershey's Kisses can't talk)
8:32 PM So, I get on the ground and lie down. The kiss tries to get down a bit, but isn't really understanding how to do it (for some reason, I don't think it's ever had a request like this before)
8:33 PM It was standing beside me kinda crouching, and knew it wasn't working, then awkwardly tried to do different things to create the picture...
One of those, it accidentally put on foot over me and kinda... straddled...
I was like, "Oh, no!!" and got up real quick... everyone was laughing. at the situation.
8:34 PM I swear the Hershey kiss turned red...
Quite embarrassing to me, I think I said something like, "No, no! Not that way"
In the end we worked out something a little more... simpler
8:35 PM Jessica: lol
me: I've never had one of my stupid ideas go so bad...
Jessica: I'm sure you have. You've probably just blocked it from your memory
me: lol, hopefully I do on this one too
8:36 PM The Hershey tour was fun, though.
8:37 PM They had a trip similar to "It's A Small World After All". you get in these carts and they take you around showing you how they make chocolate

It takes a cocoa bean 2 weeks to go from a bean to Hershey chocolate
8:38 PM They made over 8mil+ Hershey's kisses today, 450,000 Reece's and 280k Hershey bards
Jessica: it would take me 2 min to devour that chocolate bar
o.o
me: lol
8:39 PM Jessica: that's... a lot
me: Yeah, I have had plenty
When you check in they give you a Hershey bar with your room key
Jessica: hey! ; ;
I want candy
me: I have some for you
But it will probably melt or squash by the time it gets to you
Jessica: yay! just don't get hungry between now and Wednesday afternoon
me: lol
8:40 PM So, lastly, we stayed and ate at Chocolate World and were entertained by a "Mentalist"
8:41 PM It was pretty amazing what he did... all over it in the end is stage magic and mind games and reading body language, but some of them I still can't explain
He'd do things like blindfolding himself and ask people to get $ bills and he'd tell them what type they were
8:42 PM He'd also get a picture of some one's girl and describe what they looked like without looking at them.
He also went around the whole room of 250+ sales people and named everyone of them but 2 handfuls
8:43 PM I'm pretty sure it all equates to early reconnaissance, but exactly how is unknown to me.
I was hoping we were going to have a hypnotist, as I've never seen one of those
8:44 PM Jessica: you haven't?
me: Nope, you know that
Jessica: no, I thought you said you had when I told you about the one that came every year to do assemblies in Rigby
me: Oh, wait... you were hypnotized to forget that whenever I bring that up
Jessica: har har
me: Nah, you remembered wrong
8:45 PM Jessica: I don't remember wrong! That's what YOU do
me: Only because I'm the male part of our marriage
:P
Jessica: other men remember things
me: Of course they do... unless their your husband
me: The wives of those other men have fact that their husbands don't remember things
Jessica: yeah, I don't believe that
8:47 PM me: In the words of Joe, "It's all relaTIVE."
Jessica: I think it's a husband conspiracy so you get out of stuff
I think I'm going to go to bed now

me: Have to get up in 7 hours anyway to get on the bus to drive to Playworld
Jessica: ah
well, g'night I s'pose
8:55 PM gnight

New Pictures!

Well, things are settling down here with the holidays out of the way. Still, Hyrum insists on singing "Jingle Bells" at least 20 times a day. He is glad to be back in school, although he missed 2 days this week due to a stomach flu. Emily is cute as ever with 4 new teeth on top. She loves to dance and play patty-cake and peek-a-boo. Mike and I have a new calling in Primary teaching 10 year olds. We have triplets in our class. Yikes! Other than that, there is no new news, so on to the main attraction!

While I was in Shelley over Christmas, my mom took the kids to Wal*Mart to get pictures taken. She just got them back today! They turned out so cute that I had to post them.







We'll be sending out prints to the family shortly.