100 Random Things

I was tagged by Heather to do some "how you met" thingy, but man. That was a tough tag. I could hardly remember the details. So, Ryan and I saw this on Travis Alexander’s blog. We loved it, and decided to do it instead, and do it together. I think I started to get more and more sarcastic as the list went on. Together we only hit 52. Wow. We really need to go to Europe.

Copy the list and bold the ones you've done:


1. Started your own blog (Whitney did this)
2. Slept under the stars (Ryan: Once, on my mission, on New Year’s Eve, on top of our apartment building. I have no idea why. Whitney: Youth Conference, 1988)
3. Played in a band (Whitney: Does singing count?)
4. Visited Hawaii (Ryan and Whitney have been twice…the same number as Ainsley)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (If you have more than them, it’s never more than you can afford)
7. Been to Disneyland (Oh yeah.)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis (Whitney: had one the size of a soda can on my mission)
10. Sang a solo (Whitney: Not just the Tina Turner part of We Are the World at 6th grade graduation, but this weekend at the ward party!!)
11. Bungee jumped (yeah right.)
12. Visited Paris (Ryan: I’ve been to the Paris airport, but I don’t think it counts if you don’t unpack your socks for at least one night.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Whitney: I taught myself to play the guitar!)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Who hasn’t? Have you seen the ‘Dirty Dining’ report?)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight (Ryan and Whitney. Too much information.)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (if anyone answers no on this, they are lying)
24. Built a snow fort (Ryan: Of course. I grew up in Utah)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (Ryan: When I was 7…in a storm drain at the Church…got caught by my grandma who watched it all from her window. Anything else is none of your beeswax.)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Ryan: not fluent in Spanish. Whitney: I speak Portuguese.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (We shouldn’t have moved from Utah. Got greedy.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (not the one in Vegas?)
41. Sung karaoke (Whitney: Oh yeah. Carnival Cruise. Like a Virgin with a 6 month prego Brittany Call. Not drunk.)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (Whitney: I just bought a kid a hotdog at Costco because his mom had no cash.)
44. Visited Africa (Ryan: I guess if you count a 2-year long mission a ‘visit.’ Also went to South Africa for a week)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing (Whitney kicked Ryan’s butt.)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (I don’t have enough room to name all the places.)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (How about our ½ hour long infomercial for Hamlet homes?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China (Ryan: That sucker is a lot steeper than it looks)
57. Started a business (Ryan: Just a bank.)
58. Taken a martial arts class (Whitney: Me and Melissa took a class with a bunch of 10 year olds. We were 23.) (Ryan: I got a fat lip thanks to that class.)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason (Whitney: Once. Ryan: From who?)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Ryan: I’m not allowed to. They won’t take my malaria blood) (Whitney: Actually he doesn’t weigh enough.)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (Whitney: Oh yeah. Lots. All before I married the balancing checkbook nazi.) (Ryan: We did it once after marriage too…the tithing check)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (Whitney: yuck.) (Ryan: Isn’t that bait? Why would you eat it?)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (Whitney: Casa (Dia)Rea hostess position.)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (Ryan: Three times…never had a cast.) (Whitney: 1 time. Had a cast.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (Whitney: Nice hole in the ground. Can we go home now?)
80. Published a book (Ryan: Published one on blurb for the wife. Happy anniversary.)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Whitney: My obituary. Jk. When I was 6 at a strike for bussing in kids to our elementary school.)
85. Read the entire Bible (Nope. Maybe this will be the year?)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Ryan: Fish are animals, right?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (Whitney: Ryan’s. Trust me, he had no life without me.)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Whitney: Where do I begin? I stalked Charlie Sheen at a store once.)
92. Joined a book club (Whitney. Ryan reads too slow to be in a book club)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (Whitney: Twice on purpose. Once on accident.)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (Whitney: Yes. Disgusting.) (Ryan: Nope! Lived in SLC for 33 years. Why would anyone swim in that?)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own

Try this as a couple. I'd love to read your results!

Chirp! Chirp!

So, we all know about that intermittent ear drum piercing chirping sound that smoke detectors make when the batteries die, right? You know, that noise that can slowly drive a person insane? (I've heard the army uses them to break down captured Iraqi insurgents...it forces them to tell their secrets every time.) Well, for the last two nights in a row we've had to deal with them. It's a big problem because our vaulted ceilings are like 40 feet high and our ladder is only 8 feet. Why do the batteries always die at night when I'm in my deepest sleep? My favorite part is trying to figure out which one it is. It sounds like it's in Brandon's room...wait...wait...chirp chirp...no, the hall...wait...wait...chirp chirp...no, definitely in the kitchen...wait...wait. What I conclude is that it's NONE of them...until the CHIRP CHIRP happens again. I know they are designed that way to motivate the homeowner to quickly get out a ladder and install a new $14 9-volt battery into them, ensuring safety and protection for the entire family. That's great in theory, but in practice, that noise actually motivates the homeowner to back over them in the driveway with his or her car. That, of course, is not recommended, as it wouldn't be safe, and would, in fact render your fire insurance policy null and void. I wonder what is more of a risk; me dying in a fire because I didn't have smoke detectors or me falling off a ladder and plunging to my death on the tile floor as I try to climb in a half-asleep delirious stupor at 2 am. I bet more people are killed trying to replace batteries in smoke detectors than die in actual fires. Ironically, when Whitney filled our house with more smoke than a Las Vegas casino a few weeks ago, not one of the darn things went off.

Great-Grandma Funnies

My grandma is here to stay for a month and get out of the Utah cold. The children quickly recruited her to play UNO every waking moment. As they were playing, Brandon said, "Grandma, how many years have you been alive?"
"Almost 86."
"Wow, that's a lot. Did you watch TV when you were little?"
"No, we didn't have TV. We didn't even have a radio."
"Oh, I see! You were born back when TV's were called books!"

You've got to be kidding me!

Not only is it November 22, but it's 5:30 pm. Ainsley and her friend Rebecca came to me in their swimming suits. "We want to go swimming." Are you kidding? I had them go in on the step first, thigh high. "It's SOOOO warm, mom!" I figured it was fine as long as I had the camera and towels nearby!

It was short-lived. 3 minutes, tops.

Flashback Friday

Ryan's dad came to visit this week, and the kids had a ball playing UNO with him. It was a short visit, but we were glad to see him! I told him I would post a pic of him. I chose this one because I LOVE the outfit. The hair is good, too. I think Ryan's mom was prego in this...

New Website I LOVE and my table is full

I found this new website that I love, thought I would share. It is www.picnik.com. It is a FREE photo editing site. Way cool for those of us who can't afford Photoshop. Seriously awesome. The collages are better than picasa, too. Try it!!!





Every time my kids take a test and get a 100% score, we put their test under a piece of glass on the kitchen table. We have had SOOOOO many 100% tests, that I can't fit anymore under the glass and I have a pile to add to it. So, I am taking a picture before I toss all the wonderful spelling and phonics test we've got. Great job to my smarty pants! (WHO do they get it from? Most likely dad.)

Yep, It's Really Here

Wedding Day - do we look as cold as we are?



Day we got engaged - SO young!!


After Ryan wrote his diddy, anything I say will sound lame. And after the present he gave me, my CD gift to him is lame. I was outdone! He's awesome, what can I say?

Well, I CAN say happy anniversary!!!! I love you tons and suds!!