Probably Should

I probably should get out of bed this morning.

I probably should finish cleaning the house for when Mark's sister Jenae comes tomorrow.

I probably should go to Walmart and buy Mark the thermal socks he wants for a stocking stuffer and pick up my prescriptions.

I probably should finish making and wrapping the Christmas presents.

I probably should start making the hummus for the ward Christmas party tonight.

If I'm going to write a blog post I probably should blog about Sammie or Thanksgiving or the Savior of the World production,

but I probably will just stay in bed and read.

When you get a clam. . .

. . . make clam chowder!

When our plans to go to the San Juan islands and do a zipline fell through at the last minute we headed for the coast. We hadn't been there since before we were engaged so we had to laugh at how different this trip was from what we remember that one being like.  Our last trip was actually going to a singles conference. 

This trip:

for cheese, of course, and icecream-
blueberry cheesecake icecream, I'm still thinking of you. . .

the most expensive hotel we have ever stayed in (or ever hope to stay in).  I guess that's what happens when you chance getting a room on Labor Day weekend.  Even the rape motels were full! 

And clam digging! 

We had never done it, but when we went to the beach everyone else was doing it, so we thought, why not. 

At first we just started picking up the clams the seagulls hadn't gotten to yet.  That resulted in 5-10 clams.



Then we realize we could just reach around in the holes others had dug and we usually got 3-4 per hole.



Then we dug our own holes with our hands and found our own clams about 8-10 inches down.  When we decided to count we had 100 clams in such a short time!  We actually had to throw back 28 clams so we didn't go over our limit. 



We had so much fun and cannot wait to do it again!

Well, I couldn't wait to do it again until I ate them.  I love seafood of all types.  I even like clams, but there is just something about having your food alive one minute and literally 3 minutes later be dead and eating it.  I tried one, but couldn't get the second down.  I think I like my food really cooked and really dead.  Mark, on the other hand, ate quite a few.  He cannot wait to do it again so he can "get it right".  I think that means cooking them longer so they are not so 'squishy'.  We are making chowder tomorrow night-wanna come try it?  (I'd appreciate it if you joined us for dinner, I'm afraid I might not be able to eat it and if you came there would be less for me :)). 

I found a keeper! (but I already knew that!)

When Mark and I were dating Mom needed to go to Mt. Vernon and I needed to drive her over and drop her off.  This plan came about at the last minute so I texted Mark, who was at work, asking him if he wanted to go to Seattle with me so I didn't have to drive home alone.  He got off work in Walla Walla at 3 and we were leaving from Othello at 6, and he somehow made it!  (He must have liked me even back then! :)) 

That trip was the first of many trips to Seattle for us.  I just remember not caring what we did.  I only wanted to be with Mark.  We just walked around holding hands, going in random shops, (stealing kisses in the art gallery), and eating a chocolate dipped carmel apple as we watched a wedding party board a dinner boat.  We went to one of my favorite restaurants, The Crab Pot. 

 As we wondered, one of our options of things to do was to go to the aquarium-which I quickly shot down.  I have been to the aquarium many times.  It is fine, but in the end it is just fish tank after fish tank of mostly the same stuff. . .FISH.  So I didn't realize until it was too late to go that Mark had never been to an aquarium in his life.  Ohh, then I felt bad, but I guess not too bad.  We've been to Seattle so many times since then.  We almost always eat a carmel apple and eat at the Crab Pot, but we just  barely made it to the aquarium on this last trip.        
   

Okay, so I will admit, for a short minute or two, that the aquarium was a little cooler than I had remembered-after all they had that giant octopus that we got to watch eat.  That was cool.  And the sea enemities that you got to touch.  But you do have to admit, they have a lot of. . . well, FISH. 

Towards the end I started getting sea sick.  I was watching the water, feeling like I was going to throw up.  What in the world-I didn't even get sea sick on our cruise.  It was so early in the day and I didn't want to ruin our trip, but I finally had to tell Mark I needed to sit down for a few minutes.  Somehow I faked my way through it and was so relieved to be heading back home a little early. 

"Um, Mark, I'm not feeling very good." I said as I layed the seat down and curled up in a blanket.  "Charity, if you don't want to drive you could just say, you don't have to pretend to be sick."  I love him.  He makes me laugh.  He knows me too well.  I probably would pretend to be sick to get out of driving in Seattle!

After a l......o........n.......g drive home we made it home.  I went running in.  I had to go to the bathroom.  Oh no, I felt like I had to throw up.  I sat down on the toilet and yelled to Mark to get me a bowl, but that was too late.  I threw up all over the bathroom-it got on my clothes, shoes, hair.  I tried to catch it but failed miserably.  He brought me the bowl and I procedeed to throw up several more times.  Yuck!  

So, get this.  I tried to clean up a bit, but really needed to get a shower.  Mark cleaned it up for me.  Ahh, one of the many reasons I love him.  He didn't say anything, he just took care of me.  He is a good guy-and Mark-I really was sick, not just trying to get out of driving :)

I learned several lessons in all of this, but the one I want to share with you is this:  if you have to go to the bathroom and throw up and the same time, use the toilet to throw up in.  It would be easier to clean up wet pants than throw up all over the bathroom!  Just in case you need to know that! 

Tomato, tomatoe, who wants some sauce?

Last year we had beautiful tomatoes. This year we have beautiful plants and a nice trellis for them to grow on. The weather has been so crazy and then we thought we planted Roma's and big tomatoes, but we got cherry tomatoes instead. (Do you know how many tomatoes it takes to make a salsa. . . A LOT!)

Luckily a friend told me about a couple who had some extra tomatoes they weren't going to be able to pick and said we'd actually be doing them a favor to pick them. 150 pounds of tomatoes later Cedelia and I both went home with plenty of tomatoes. We've been enjoying salsa once again, and I have been making freezer tomato sauce like crazy. So far I have 9 3-4 cup bags with another one or two bags worth on the stove. Yumm! I love homemade tomato sauce!  Still looking for more tomatoes though.  Next year I'm planting more!

Casting Call

 With determinion

a few shakes in our voices

and first time solo performances for both of us

Mark and I auditioned for our stake's Savior of the World production happening in December.  Our fingers are still crossed we get in, but we haven't heard yet. . . If we are in, you have to come see the performance (actually it might be better if you came to watch the production if we don't get in ;)). 

Frosty I and II

One of my favorite things to do is build a snowman with the first snowfall.  It doesn't matter how much snow, or how little.  It doesn't matter if it is packing snow or if I have to pile it to make my snowman. 

The first snow this season left me working hard for my snowman. In fact, if you look closely the snowman even has a dandilion necklace-nice touch, I know.  As you can see there wasn't a lot of snow and making this snowman also doubled for raking the leaves I believe. :) 

Here is my partner in crime.  (Look at all that green grass behind him.)  I love building a snowman because then when all the snow in the yard has melted there is still a small pile where the snowman once stood.  It makes me smile. 

Our second snowman of the season was much much better!  I thought I got a picture of it too, but I can't seem to find it, so you'll have to just imagine it.  At the end of our driveway we have several large boulders making the driveway narrower so we get less traffic to the house.  I had the brainstorm to use one of the rocks as the first snowball for our snowman, covering it with snow and making it look like a giant snowball.  Then Mark and I both made a big snowball and somehow managed to get them on top of the rock.  When the snowman was finished, he was a snowgiant-towering over Mark's head!  Next year I want to make a snowfamily on several of the rocks at the end of the driveway.  If we thought we got a lot of comments on our snowmen this year, just wait until next year! 

The moral of the story is. . .

When Mark and I told my sister we were going to a hockey game she said, "oh how fun. We haven't done that since we were married." We hadn't either :).

With perfect seats on the last row of the stadium we enjoyed shot attempt after shot attempt as we overlooked the goal. The American's team missed 45 of the goals they attempted. The "orange team" (you would think I would know who they were after watching them for 3 hours) missed 23 of the goals they attempted. That is why I love the next picture. The Americans won 7 to 3. They had double the shot attempts and more than double the score. The moral of the story is the more shots you take in life, the better your chances of winning.

I realized something about myself during the game too. Hockey is actually a sport where I watch the game more than I do the crowd. Don't get me wrong I still watch the crowd too. For example: I knew the lady in front of us was holding a girl that wasn't her child. She looked like she was trying too hard. Later when the real mom came and got her child my impressions were confirmed. I also watched one man write a check to his brother-in-law for $100. I think his brother-in-law must have bought his family the tickets, but I'm not sure why they included an extra $20. They must have had 3 cars too. The wife and the baby left after about 40 minutes then the dad and another child left 15 minutes before it was over, then the brother-in-law and his 2 girls left at the end. (I know you really don't care, but I love figuring out peoples stories in a short amount of time :)). That's not all I learned about my neighbors, but even with all that I really did watch the game!
The next night we even enjoyed free hamburgers from Burger Ranch because our team had made over 5 goals. We felt slightly underdressed redeeming our coupons and slightly in the wrong age bracket. Most of the people in the restaurant were still wearing their Am's jerserys and were over the age of 65. I felt more lacking in team spirit at the restaurant than I did at the game! :)

I think we'll start a zoo

I mean, how hard can it be? After a day of researching, photographing, and many hours of serious reflection, Mark and I have decided we are going to build a zoo.

Step 1: Put up disclaimer signs. (In case you can't read the sign, it says "Animals are only intermittenly visible in this enclosure today. This may be due to cold weather, special feedings or other reasons such as the introduction of new animals. Thank you for understanding that excellent animal care means not all animals can be visible at all times.)

Step 2: Set out fresh food in obvious spots many times daily

Step 3: Hire your "zookeepers" to stand at various exhibits throughout the zoo occasionally pointing to the "sleeping" animals in the trees.

Step 4: (Plastic or stuffed animals work great as fill in animals in a zoo and cost a lot less. Just make sure to reposition the animal in different positions or locations throughout the day in case people return to the exhibit.)

Step 5: Last but not least, make sure you purchase a couple of real animals so that the visitors leave happy and want to return soon. Actually you might even inspire them to become zookeepers when they grow up or as a grown up you might inspire them to build their own zoo!

P.S. Yes I realize this is an old event, but Mark and I have been having so much fun enjoying each others company that we haven't been recording it. Hopefully we will post several "catching up" blogs to get back to the present.

Take me out to the ball game!

"Go Mariners!!" "Go Yankees!"
(he said) (she said)

I love going to baseball games. The food, the excitment, the people watching! I love to watch the guys coming up and down the stands balancing the food, throwing it to people and sometimes coming close to dropping or hitting someone in the head with the food. I love eating peanuts and smashing the shells on the floor. Can you smell the garlic fries and imagine the taste of a baseball game hot dog? I love watching the replays on the big screen too because I am usually too busy watching something or someone else to actually watch what is happening on the field.

(In case you can't read it, in the background it says "Mariners Win!!! One good thing about cheering for opposing teams, one of us will always leave happy :)!)

We actually both left happy. We had a lot of fun! Can't wait until next year. Let's go again Mark. Umm, maybe to NY to see the Yankees play on their home field :).

We had a bit of time to spare before the game began so we went to the sports store where we took pictures all decked out in support of our opposing teams. I think people thought we were a little suspicious with all the laughing and cameras flashing coming from the dressing room, but you gotta do what you gotta do.