18 Down, A Lot More To Go?

My little mini me Dana is growing up so fast! I can't believe she is 18 years old.

It seems like just yesterday I was toting her around...

...and changing her stinky diapers :)

You always look so angelic out on the dance floor as you twirl and leap but occasionally your inner dinosaur comes out at the most unexpected moments. It may be a duck allergy :)

Sorry about that one Christmas that I made you sit by Sam, I know how chipper he can be in the morning. It makes me angry sometimes too.

Its nice to have sisters around to hang out and play games with, hey, is that my shirt you're wearing? I want it back!

I can't remember if you like ice cream cake or not, but I hope you do because this time of year I think that is the only kind available in Rexburg. I'm sorry that you had to spend your birthday driving, but at least at the end of your drive you got to see your favorite sister, me!

Happy Birthday Dana, we love you!

Little Punk

So I am just sitting at my desk, minding my own business like usual. I am looking at my computer when I hear a commotion out in the hall. It is not a super loud one, just a normal, 'I am done with therapy and now preparing to leave' commotion. Next thing I know an eight year old boy (not the smallest 8 year old I have ever seen either) is running straight towards me.

Now in my defense the majority of the children I am around every day are super nice, outgoing, talkative and tell me all about their days, how pretty I am (yes I did get this once, but am writing it like it is an every day occurrence for my self esteem boost), what they are coloring, etc. Because of this, my first impression is that this little guy is coming at me to try to give me a hug. Boy was I wrong.

His arms were outstretched and ready for that hug and then the last minute adjustment left him with his fat little hands around my little neck, squeezing, chocking, strangling, whatever you want to call it. It all happened so fast, but fast enough to leave my poor little neck sore for the next few days and me startled a good one.

So if you would like the update on how I like my new job so far my answer to you is.....I got strangled by a decent size 8 year old who knew what he was doing about a month into it.....does that about sum it up? :)

A Clyde Monster Birthday!

September 1st is very special because it marks the 3 year anniversary of Terri's first trip to Boise...to see the new baby Clyde!!!

Thanks for the help Clyde! Sorry if your first impression of me was a bit traumatic :)


You were an adorable little Santa Clyde,


But now you have grown into quite the Clyde Monster.

Even during your terrible twos though you still maintained a sensitive side.


You are definitley a child genius, I still can't believe that we read the same kind of books!

I know that we didn't give you your birthday present yet but I promise we have it, you are one of our two favorite nephews and we love you very much! Happy Birthday Clyde!!!

I hate bugs!!!

About a year and a half ago I made the mistake of freaking out when little Wade caught a bug that randomly flew into the car window. I was screaming at the top of my lungs, sitting on the floor in the front seat, trying to get as far away from him as I could. All this drama while Sam and Wade laughed hysterically and Wade continued shoving his fist full of bug at me.

To this day, whenever Wade sees me, he will find a bug, piece of lint, or even an invisible bug to shove towards me and proudly announce "bug" to make me scream.

One summer afternoon we took him to the park and started finding rocks to throw into Provo river. When we picked up these rocks we usually found enormous amounts of gross ants and bugs under them. Needless to say, I spent the majority of the blazing hot afternoon running and screaming for my life.
And I still haven't forgiven Sam for not protecting me a little bit better.

Happy Birthday To Sam!!!

Today is a special day. My Sam had his golden birthday....27 on the 27th.
Here a few reasons why I like him...

He was a pretty cute little boy.
Now, he was obviously not the prettiest little girl...but at least maybe our male offspring will having a fighting chance in the looks department.

He is also quite the singer and dancer.
And did I mention he does the dishes while he sings and dances? Quite the multi-tasker.

He is very strong. If you haven't felt his muscles you should ask.
Oh and he also did not kill me after I forced him to paint the guest room maybe 4 different times? Turns out June Day is not a good yellow to use to cover 3 walls.

He is super good at reading stories and using funny voices.
Even little babies know to laugh at his jokes.

He is always finding things like this on the internet to make me laugh...And even though he is getting old :)
I guess I am too (only he is doing it faster which thankfully makes me feel younger, one more thing that I love about him).

Happy Birthday Sam....I love you!!!!

Mama Pam Birthday

Mom birthdays are very important birthdays because if your mom doesn't have a birthday then you don't have a birthday.

Having a mom who unconditionally loved me was good because she read me nice books like this when I was little.

And now that I am older she reads me books like this.

That's okay, I would like Quinn better too.

Having a mother who is an English teacher is very helpful when you put off school essays until the last minute, but not very helpful when you play scrabble against her:)

As it turns out wonderful mothers also make wonderful grandmothers!


Happy birthday mama, thank you for bringing me into the world and not taking me back out of it when I was a teenager! We hope that you had a nice birthday, we love you!

A Very Terri Birthday!

A few days ago(on the 7th) Terri celebrated her 24th birthday. The real party didn't begin till later in the day because Terri was 5 days into a new job so she had to work and was therefore robbed of sleeping in and eating a late breakfast in bed, which every birthday girl should get to do.



Several of Terri's secret admirers used this special day as a opportunity to try and win her favor, but unfortunately for Wade,

and Clyde,

she is spoken for....right sweetheart?!

When it was time to get down to it, however, Terri was ready to employ her birthday powers. After an intense 17 holes of miniature golf Terri, Connie, Brandon and I came into the 18th hole with a three way tie for first.

The final hole, which is like unto a rigged county fair game, awards a free game and a single stroke instead of two for a hole-in-one and looked something like this...

With a shot that even Tiger Woods would have marveled at, Terri chipped her ball through an opening in the metal screen, bounced it off a wall and landed it right in the hole for a free game and won the entire event by one stroke!

After the climatic finish of the Terri Clause Invitational, our good friends Bianca and Greg invited us up to a chilly, but romantic chair lift ride at Sundance. Ben and Meg joined us for the adventure and before we knew it we were all squished together trying to pretend we weren't scared of heights :)

I hope you had a happy birthday sweetheart. Every birthday you have marks another year that I got to spend with you, and I can't wait until you have been a part of my life for more time than you haven't(19 years to go!). Now that I found you I don't know what I would do without you, and I hope I never do.