Paddle Down to Portland

This weekend we took the kids and headed down to Portland to stay with our friends the Barners. While we were there we also got to attend a fantastic performance put on by my aunt and uncle's Stake, a production of "A Christmas Carol." On Sunday night my aunt Tina hosted an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate all the family that was there over the weekend. We had such a great time! It was a wonderful visit.

This is Erica on the way down. She kept fussing, being tired of her car seat, so Heidi plugged her into her Ipod. It worked like a miracle. What can I say, I have techie kids....

While we were in town we visited the Portland Temple and got some great pictures of the kids.
This one cracks me up, it is so typical Erica!!



I foresee a budding romance....

The Barner Family

Paul and Michele', with Gabrielle, Olivia and Jack

Our crazy crew!

The kids are in front of the reflecting pond. It is such a beautiful temple!

Erica got a foot and her pant leg wet, of course.

Twilight Strikes Again

Last night was the much-anticipated premier of the movie "New Moon," the second in the "Twilight" book series. Like my other Twi-hard friends, I was excited to see this next installment. We planned on attending the midnight showing, and attempted to get tickets online several weeks ago, only to find they were all sold out! Luckily, seeing a guaranteed boon to their weekend gross, the theatre decided to open some more showings at 12:30 am, which we grabbed at quickly.

As it so happened, it has been pouring rain here for the last week. And cold. Now imagine a line of soggy, excited teenagers and giddy groups of women of all ages extending the length of the mall parking lot, waiting for one to two hours to get into the theatre.....Can you see it? Here are some (terrible, I know) pictures from my little camera to illustrate:

I know they are fuzzy, but you get the idea!!

Here are my friends Maryanne, Laura, Amy and Lindsey, anxiously waiting to be let into the theatre.

Maryanne and I got our tickets seperately, so we were in a different theatre than the other girls. They got to go in at about 11:15, while we waited outside for another 30 minutes.

Here we are, seated and ready to roll!!

I went equipped with a full bag: a crochet project, awaiting my attention, my camera, some popcorn from home, and a soda to keep me awake.

Maryanne and I were both in agreement: the movie was.....fantabulous!

I liked it much more than the first movie. The characters were a lot more developed, and there was a lot more action. Of course, an interesting love triangle never hurts either. I can't wait to take Eric to see it. He wasn't too excited to go, saying it's more my thing, but I think even he will like it!

I crept into the house at about 3:30 this morning. I don't remember the last time I was out that late.....Wait a minute, I have never been out that late! I am a self-proclaimed night-owl by all definitions of the term, but that was really pushing it for me!!

Today I am in the dreamy haze of extreme sleep-deprivation, but I must say that it was totally worth it! It's not very often you can get excited about a goofy thing like a movie, and revel in the experience with a bunch of soaking-wet strangers. I highly recommend doing it whenever such an opportunity presents itself!

Welcome to the 21st Century!

It's official....the White family has now entered the 21st century!!!

A few weeks ago we got a webcam. It's a nifty little camera that sits on top of our computer. We can use it to take pictures and videos of ourselves, which I have had some fun playing with.

But the really exciting thing is that we can talk to other people who are hooked up with a webcam, face-to-face. We do it through the free network/program Skype.

Last night I talked to my little sister, Diana, via the computer. I got to see her cute little apartment in Provo, Utah, along with some mosaic projects she and Jordan are working on. She also showed me the free chairs she got on Craigslist and recovered herself. It was like I was there in the room with her.....This thing is AWESOME!

Our first "phone call" was to my parents in Boise, Idaho. We spent nearly the whole call just staring at each other on screen, it was such a strange thing to do at first! The kids didn't know how to act, so they just acted goofy, you know...the old stand-by.

Next we talked to Eric's Aunt Patty, also in Boise. We caught up on a lot of stuff and had a good heart-to-heart. There's something different about talking to someone face-to-face. It's a lot different than talking on the phone.

So now I would like to ask if any of the rest of you out there have a webcam so we can "Skype" together? So far we only have those three "phone numbers," and we would love to add more!!

Hope to be talking to you soon!!

A Night at the Doo Wop Diner

On Saturday night we had a hoppin' party at our house! We turned the downstairs into the Doo Wop Diner, complete with red checkered table cloths, greasy hamburgers, and some swingin' juke box tunes!

I set up my photography studio equipment and got some great pictures of everyone.

Isn't Eric the coolest dude around? How did such a nerd end up with that hunk?!

The biggest hit of the party was our Soda Jerk Station! We had an assortment of flavored syrups to add to our sodas, making our own crazy and delicious concoctions! I was on a sugar-high all night from that stuff!

Here's all of us chicks just hangin'. Aren't we cute?

Oh yes, we had a lot of fun together!!

The guys played it cool, showing us their tough side....

....and then, not so tough!



Golly, we sure had a blast with all our friends!

What does it tell you....?

So, what does it tell you that Erica's first phrase that she says is "go away?" Only it sounds more like "wo oway!"


Well, it tells me that: 1. she hears that expression way too much from her siblings, and 2. she has a brother who tries her patience more than she can bear!


I've been hearing it a lot in my house these last few days. It was funny and cute at first, but now she's starting to express it with a little attitude.


Oi vey, she's a fiesty one!

Dear Microsoft: Your Windows Vista STINKS (just thought you'd want to know...)

Dear Microsoft,


Just in case you haven't heard from the already countless number of frustrated and dissatisfied customers, I thought I'd let you know that your Windows Vista program system really STINKS. As in, stick your head in a pail of dirty diapers and inhale deeply. Yes, it's that bad.


I have been a loyal follower my entire adult life, so I was ecstatic to get a brand new computer, complete with a state-of-the-art software program, guaranteed to keep my new friend completely and utterly disease free.


However, blocking essential functions that I try to complete online, because of the inherent risk of viral infection, can no longer be termed a "safety precaution." It's downright tyranny! I can no longer add pictures to my blog, see comments posted, listen to music clips, or check out any video posted online. It is not allowed. Nor can I turn the darn function off.


On Monday night I threw a temper tantrum of epic proportions trying to upload my family's Halloween pictures onto my blog. Luckily, I have a patient and long-suffering husband who worked over an hour trying to fix the problem, then gave up and hooked up our ancient and woefully slow previous computer to do the essential business.


He assures me that Windows 7 will solve all our problems.


I only wish I had that much hope....



Sincerely,
A Very Jaded and Frustrated Customer

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet!

We had a lot of fun for Halloween this year. On Friday night we had a Ward Halloween party, then Saturday night was for trick-or-treating, so the kids got to dress up two nights in a row, which they loved.

Eric and I joined in on the fun for the party, dressing up like a couple from the 50's. I put together a poodle skirt for myself, and made some matching ones for the girls as well. They turned out pretty cute! Then Eric and I added our own touch of nerdiness with some cool specks, Eric's complete with masking tape around the nose-piece, and mine bespeckled with some fancy rhinestones!

I found a twin in my friend Stephanie.

Eric found his own twin in Bishop Barker, although I must say the Bishop really knows how to channel his inner nerdiness!

Ethan had fun being very creepy. And I had fun playing with his makeup. I think we were pretty successful in turning him into the undead.

The girls were so cute together!

Halloween night turned out to be a very wet one, so we didn't see that many trick-or-treaters. However, we did get a little visit from some mischief-managing teenagers. As we were shutting down the lights and locking up, Eric noticed one of my decorative pumpkins that was on the porch was missing. He decided he was going to try to hunt it down. I must admit, as I heard his truck rambling off down the street, I was envisioning a show-down of epic proportions.

"Hey, you hoodlums, give me back that pumpkin!"

"Yeah, what are ya gonna do about it, old man?"

And out emerges some sort of weapon that I had to force myself to not envision.

Eric's vigilante-ism (is that even a word?) paid off. He found the poor pumpkin around the corner and down the street with his face partially kicked in. We decided next year the decorations come inside at 8:00. I can't handle another year wondering if my husband will make it back OK after attempting to rescue a plastic pumpkin.