tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11990528317193681862024-03-05T01:02:05.094-08:00The Mickelsen's MonkeyshinesThe Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-35919134980038696512014-01-20T14:21:00.002-08:002014-01-20T14:21:46.854-08:00I Got A Part!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am so excited and happy to be a part of Mount Harrison Heritage Foundation's production of Les Mis! I have a bit of a story about it, which is probably boring, but it's my story, so I'll tell it anyway.<br />
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Before Thanksgiving, Logan came home from school, and as usual brought in the mail. Once a week we receive a locally produced paper, which I can count on one hand the number of times I have looked through it. This particular day was one of the those days I felt the need to thumb through it quickly before throwing it out. A few pages in, I was excited to see an advertisement for the upcoming production of Les Mis, and that tryouts would be happening the next week. My first thought was to have Logan audition for the part of Gavroche. Logan loves the music to Les Mis, and in my motherly opinion, I think he would make the perfect Gavroche. After reading more about the auditions, I quickly realized that Logan was too young. Sadness.<br />
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After overcoming my initial excitement, then disappointment, James asked me if I was going to audition. I told him that I was thinking about it, but I wasn't sure if I should, knowing that there are way more talented people in this world than me and I didn't want to put myself through something scary, just to be disappointed.<br />
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The next night I went visiting teaching. During that 10 minute drive, I was deeply pondering whether or not I should audition. When I got to my "sister's" house, I sat down at her kitchen table, and looked down to see that right in front of me was the paper, opened up to the page advertising the auditions for Les Mis! I was so surprised to see it, that I even commented on it. That pretty much made my mind up, that I should indeed take the leap of faith, suck it up and audition.<br />
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About a week later, James joined me at Burley high school, supporting me while I sang in front of the play and music director. There were a bunch of people there, and I was kind of nervous, but not too nervous. I had prepared myself well, and I knew the song like the back of my hand. My turn came up, and then....I bombed it. Truly, I have never sang so poorly in my life. My initial feelings were anger. I was so mad at myself for screwing up so badly on something that I wanted so much! I can't explain why I did so poorly, but I had no doubt in my mind that I had not made the cut. Indeed, the day came and went that the director told us we would be contacted by if we had made the play.<br />
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It may seem silly, but I really stewed about this for a long time. Day after day it wouldn't leave my mind about how badly I had done and how much it FRUSTRATED me! (I realize that people have bigger problems than this, but seeing as I didn't have any other major problems in my life at the time, this was a big deal.)<br />
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Finally, a week later, I made up my mind that I was over it, and I was not willing to lend any more of my feelings towards the matter. The very next day I ran into a friend at the grocery store. She congratulated me on making the play! Talk about salt in the wound! I regretfully informed her that while I did audition (how did she know?) I had not actually made the cut. She quickly disagreed with me and told me that she had seen my name on the list of people who had made the play. I could hardly believe it. She told me where she had seen this list, online, so I called James and told him to look it up to confirm with me. This story is already long, but to shorten it a bit, lets just say, I made the play!<br />
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Rehearsals began shortly after the new year. I have loved every second of it, and it really helps that James is just as excited about me being in the play as I am. Logan is pretty excited to go watch the show too. The talent that is in this show is AMAZING, so I still don't know why I'm in it. ;)<br />
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It makes all the difference, that even though this is at the high school, they mostly cast adults. It brings the level of maturity up a lot. It was a fun surprise to go to the first rehearsal and realized that I was surrounded by people who love this story and music as much, if not more, than I do. Really, I am so impressed with how much talent is in this play and I'm excited to see it all come together. The pit orchestra is even made up of volunteer, professional musicians.<br />
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Anyway, it's going to be great. The performances are the last week of January, and tickets are $12 a piece. The budget they spent on this play is astronomical ($25,000) so if you want to support your local Idaho community, please, come and enjoy the show! If you click on the link below, you can buy your tickets and even pick where you sit, so take advantage now and get front row seats!<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://kingfineartscenter.ticketleap.com/les-miserables/dates" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://kingfineartscenter.<wbr></wbr>ticketleap.com/les-miserables/<wbr></wbr>dates</a></b>The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-85687083981185354392014-01-20T13:37:00.001-08:002014-01-20T13:37:43.091-08:00The Month of December<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We had a great Christmas Season, but I didn't do the best job of recording all of it. :)</div>
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December 2nd, we set out for the mountains to cut down our own Christmas tree. Our friends informed us that after paying only $10 for a permit, you can cut down your own tree! That's such a steal, that it may be a long time before our fake tree makes another appearance. </div>
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We made just a short walk before finding a tree that was good enough for us. We really weren't in the mood to take the kids on a long trek.<br />
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James made short work out of cutting it down. It required some more trimming once we got home, but it was fine and it was a Christmas tree!<br />
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Cute Siri.<br />
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A few days before Christmas, we helped the kids decorate their gingerbread cookies.<br />
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Cousin fun.<br />
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The Ward Christmas Party, was at some point during the month. We had Logan and Lizzy all prepped to ask Santa for the gifts that were already hiding in our closet. Well, Santa came booming in the room, scaring the living daylights out of Elizabeth. She cried and cried and cried, and insisted that there was no way she was talking to Santa.<br />
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Obviously Logan was not deterred by scary Santa. Also, we were happy that it didn't discourage Logan when Santa (seriously Santa?!) told Logan that he had never heard of the toy he was asking for.<br />
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Annnnddd....Santa totally ignored Siri, but she still sneaked up to snag herself a candy cane.<br />
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Our pictures of Christmas Day itself are on James' phone, which I do not have in my possession at this time. So, hopefully this will do for fulfilling your curiosity.<br />
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Other fun things we did:<br />
The kids each had a chocolate advent calendar, something we had last year too, and they loved it. I also collected 24 Christmas books, and individually wrapped each one. The kids took turns unwrapping one a night, before we would read it together.<br />
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We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve at Matt and Ramie's house, eating, singing, and laughing. Holiday's really can't get any better than when you spend them with family.<br />
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We went to Dixie's house for Christmas dinner. Again, another family filled day, and it was perfect.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-32183979785452512312014-01-20T13:19:00.000-08:002014-01-20T13:19:10.062-08:00Lizzy Turns 5!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Even though I've had a month to get used to the idea, I still can't believe my little Lizzy Girl is 5 years old. I am the lamest mom that ever existed, and I have very few pictures from her big day. I have even less of Christmas, so yeah, I'm lame. </div>
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Birthday donut tower!<br />
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She opened her gifts first thing in the morning, like 6:45 in the morning. We wanted Logan to be part of the festivities before he had to go to school.<br />
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To make her birthday special, we met up with family and friends, and went bowling that night. It was a first for all three of the kids, and they all loved it.<br />
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By the time we had all finished our bowling games, it was getting late. We rushed through singing "Happy Birthday" and then cut into her Dora cake. Sorry I don't have a better picture of it! (I'm sorry for myself!)<br />
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Lizzy Girl, you are so big, in many ways. You want to be a part of everything that is going on, all while attached to my body. Happy or sad, you want to be hugging me, or hanging on to me. Most of the time it is really sweet, but I'll admit, it can be a bit much some times! But, it's what makes you you.<br />
<br />
You are such a smart girl. You make up your own songs all the time, and you say the SILLIEST things! You will go into in-depth detail telling me stories about conversations you had with Jesus, or give me lectures on why people shouldn't call dogs "crazy". I can tell your brain is working hard in those moments; however, you can be so easy going that you can't focus on anything! I've been working with you on reading. You are extremely resistant to it, but for some reason, you learned how to read the words, "jump" and "little". At this point, you can't read any other words. You don't want to! I can tell you are so smart though, that when you decide you want to read, you will learn fast.<br />
<br />
I know you like to learn because we can turn your bad days upside down when we tell you that it is a preschool day! You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE going to school. In fact, on your birthday, you declared that you were going to kindergarten that day! I was sad to inform you that you still had to wait another 9 months. But, as is your nature, you took the bad news well, smiled, and enthusiastically said, "OK"!<br />
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You didn't pick up Logan's (or your Dad's) habit for cleanliness and organization, but that's ok. You are one tough cookie. You often demonstrate your capacity to take pain, or to brush some unpleasantness off like it was nothing. I've witnessed you cut yourself and bleed, just to look at it, grimace and say, "It's OK Mom, I'm OK".<br />
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You also make friends fast. Even though you prefer to play by yourself, you warm up fast to strangers and you get silly with them very fast.<br />
<br />
Thanks for being you Elizabeth. You are a special spirit, and I love that you are a part of our family.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-19450558623574563842014-01-20T12:58:00.003-08:002014-01-20T12:58:59.426-08:00Missionary Homecoming and Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Just before Thanksgiving, our nephew returned home from his mission to the Marshall Islands. Being so remote, his contact with family was hit and miss. It was a touching reunion with his family, and I'm happy James and I were able to go to the airport too. </div>
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First hug with Mom and Dad<br />
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First Grandma hug<br />
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Hey Uncle James!<br />
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Yeah, so I was trying to take a picture of us together, but I dropped the camera right as I hit the "picture taking button". This picture was the result.<br />
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One big happy family!<br />
<br />
Having Dalton come home was a big deal. I don't get to make many cakes anymore, so I kind of forced my services on the family, asking if I could make a cake for Dalton. James had an idea for the cake, remembering that when Dalton had been out for 9 months, he'd had a dream that was very special to him. James suggested that I try to recreate that dream into a cake. I did my best, but it is difficult to put a dream into a cake! Just so the cake makes a little bit of sense to you, I am including an excerpt of Dalton's letter where he described his dream.<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
So I have been sick and I was getting really bad</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
so I told my companion, "I gotta go get some rest man." So we headed</div>
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for the house for a one hour nap and then would be back on our way to</div>
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teaching lessons. I went and pulled out my Kie, lied down on the floor</div>
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and was immediately out. Then I had a dream. I was walking down this</div>
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long gravel road with rows of beats on each side of me (kind of like</div>
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Bishop Poteet's road) as far as I could see and then beyond that I</div>
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could see sparkling blue ocean water. As I continued to walk down this</div>
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road all of a sudden I came across this sidewalk in the middle of the</div>
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road. The very first block was so nice, perfectly square, and started</div>
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off perfectly. The next one following that was pretty good but the</div>
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third and fourth squares were pretty cracked and crooked as I walked</div>
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past the them. Then I came to the fifth one which wasn't as bad and</div>
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started straightening out and looking more like a sidewalk again.</div>
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Followed by the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth ones progressively</div>
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getting better as i passed by them. When I got to the ninth one there</div>
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was no more. The sidewalk stopped. All that was there was a bucket of</div>
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cement and a leveler with somewhat prepared ground in front of the</div>
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rest of this ninth square. The prepared way for it was perfectly</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
straight and narrow going on for what seemed to be forever. I looked</div>
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up and down the road wondering what was going on and who placed this</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
sidewalk here. I yelled, "Hello, is anybody here!" I looked up and</div>
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down the road once again and saw nothing. Then out of nowhere I see</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
this man coming towards me. As he confronts me i say, "Excuse me, what</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
is this cement sidewalk doing here." He looks at it and replies, "Why</div>
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do you ask me? You are the one who is building it." As he told me this</div>
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a realization came into my mind that those 9 blocks were the past 9</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
months that I had served out here on my mission. I quickly replied,</div>
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"If this is my mission what happened to the third and fourth blocks</div>
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sir?" Once again he said, "You are the one who has been laying this</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
sidewalk, you tell me." Another realization came to me stronger than</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
the first. That I had been laying this path and depending on how good</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
my works were would show in my path. I then said with a heart full of</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
sorrow, "I am so sorry," for I knew I could have done a much better</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
job than i did. He then looked at me with love in his eyes that</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
pierced me to the heart and said, "You are forgiven, you need not</div>
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worry about it anymore." I then felt love and happiness from him as he</div>
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put his arm around me and said, "Now it's gonna be hard here at times</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
okay, but if anything ever gets too hard you call for me. You call for</div>
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me." Then pointing far up ahead he said, "I'll be right up there</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
watching you. I've given you the tools and you know what needs to be</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
done with them." With love stronger than I had ever felt before I</div>
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shook my head and said, "okay." His last words were then, " I love</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
you, you can do this. Now you've got to get back to work. There is</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
still much that needs to be done." Immediately after this I woke up</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
and went and recorded it in my journal. I waited for my companion to</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
wake up and then told him of what had happened. It was a pretty</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
spectacular thing that happened to me right there and i don't know if</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
I explained it the best over e mail but it was amazing. I had never</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
had such a clear vivid dream and one that made so much sense to me. I</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
am so thankful for the mission and all of the experiences it is giving</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
me. Oh it is so great guys.</div>
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I liked how this cake turned out, but I keep thinking about how much better I could have made it if people wouldn't have minded TONS of cake. I am rarely completely satisfied with how my cakes turn out, and this one is no different. *sigh*The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-53726626220506645022013-10-23T13:39:00.001-07:002013-10-23T13:39:51.485-07:00The Many Facesof Siri:<br />
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Where's your tongue?<br />
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Angry face.<br />
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Happy face.<br />
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Crazy face.<br />
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Silly face.<br />
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Mean face. (These is her favorite face to make.)<br />
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Siri is well known for the faces she pulls. She most often likes do make them while going to the bathroom, during dinner, and during prayers.<br />
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She is also a great copy cat and a mischief maker.<br />
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She always has to be doing what Lizzy is doing. I will have two great bakers one day.<br />
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She definitely has preferences. When going out for ice cream, she got angry when we took this licorice ice cream cone away from her and gave her cotton candy ice cream, which she definitely didn't like.<br />
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She enjoys making giant messes for the sake of making a giant mess.<br />
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This baby also loves, loves, loves, any kind of treats. Here she is enjoying a donut. (Lizzy enjoyed her donut faster than Siri.)<br />
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Prime example of my dare devil child. It is also a prime example of her determination to get whatever she wants.<br />
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Clearly I need to take more pictures of my other children.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-19141695172623981442013-10-01T12:50:00.002-07:002013-10-01T12:50:53.061-07:00Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
These pictures are in no particular order, but they are my favorite (OK, they are most of the) pictures I took this summer.</div>
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This is our garden, pre-planting anything in it. We've done teeny little gardens here and there, but living on the farm gave us the opportunity to plant a garden as large as we/I wanted. James made these rows with the tractor and I was intimidated by it's size, but we made it work!<br />
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This is my favorite sunset picture. I love all the colors and how the sun looks like it's on fire.<br />
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James installed a sprinkler system for our yard. He always amazes me with his willingness to work hard to benefit our family.<br />
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Hanging out in the yard and wheat field.<br />
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More lounging... Siri is the dot behind James' head. I often found her wandering through the wheat.<br />
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James is my favorite. My favorite everything.<br />
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Motorcycle and 4-wheeler rides have been a regular thing this summer. Those are always a hit with the kids.<br />
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Of course summer means popsicles.<br />
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Another sunset...<br />
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Logan trying to look "farmery" with a stalk of green wheat between his teeth.<br />
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We gave the kids a gun safety lesson or two and helped them shoot the bb gun. Of course, James and I took a few shots as well.<br />
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Our new punishment for the kids is to run laps around the yard. One night, right before bed, Logan got in trouble and had to run his laps. Clearly he wasn't dressed, but the part that prompted us to take this picture is that Logan was just in his underwear, and for some reason had decided that he needed to run with a helmet on. Unfortunately, he took the helmet off right before we snapped this picture, but it looked hilarious.<br />
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We enjoyed water balloon fights.<br />
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And we harvested SO MUCH from our garden! I've loved having it and I learned a lot about what I really want to grow. More onions, and more broccoli. No green beans. I guess this family just doesn't like them. But, did you notice the difference between this picture and the first? It is amazing what can grow in just a few short months.<br />
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We had a beautiful rainbow one morning. We could see where it hit the earth on both ends and it was SO close to us! I couldn't fit the whole thing in my picture. So just imagine this x2 and then you'll see what we saw.<br />
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After the green wheat turned yellow, it was time to harvest. In this picture, the kids are showing off the combine, aka a wheat harvester.<br />
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I planted sunflowers in my garden, and they were HUGE! Most grew to 12 feet. And their leaves...<br />
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Can you say, ginormous?<br />
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Blue skies and pretty flowers make for a happy me!<br />
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Lizzy loved picking our carrots, but she did need help pulling this giant one out.<br />
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I look a little crazy because I've spent hours preserving the fruits of our garden labors. I've canned 14 jars of salsa, 12 quarts of applesauce, and I've harvested the seeds from our sunflowers and turned them into, what Logan calls, "spits". Meaning, I turned them into yummy sunflower seeds, perfect for snacking on. I've got so much more to pick and process from the garden. All this work may have an influence on my joy for fall. Oh well. At least when I got hot in my kitchen, I can step outside and enjoy the crisp fall weather.<br />
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Goodbye summer, and hello fall. Let's skip winter altogether, whad'ya say?The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-69108866534195264012013-09-24T15:57:00.000-07:002013-09-24T15:57:26.252-07:00Siri's Birthday...Nearly 3 Months Late<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm getting super lazy at blogging. It's hard to know why I even blog anymore, but I do know I have few faithful readers, so these are for you!</div>
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Siri had her birthday back at the beginning of July. We are not big party people, but we do sing happy birthday and eat cake. </div>
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The morning started with her birthday donuts. She was a little scared of the candle flames, and refused to blow them out. </div>
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James did it for her.<br />
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She got some new toys from her Grandma Ward.<br />
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Siri loves taking care of "babies" and seems to always have one wrapped up in a doll blanket somewhere. If she ever sees anybody else pushing a stroller, she will scream at them and take it away.<br />
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In the evening, we headed over to Grandma Idaho's house for some S'more cupcakes. They were yummy!<br />
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Siri got some new clothes, which she loves. She is a clothes snob, and is very particular about what she wears. She also absolutely insists on dressing herself.<br />
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James and I totally spaced giving her our present until the next day. (See, not party people! Who forgets to give their own child their birthday present?)<br />
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Siri is a fireball. She climbs, plays with things that are off limits, thinks she can start her own shows, wants to do everything by herself, wants her daddy to tell her she's pretty, is a daredevil, pulls ridiculous faces at dinner time, will be goofy at the drop of a hat, will scream instantly if she doesn't want you looking at her, touching her, or talking to her, picks up all bugs and arachnids fearlessly, and makes us laugh every day.<br />
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Her insistence at doing so much by herself, encouraged me to potty train her just a month after her birthday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_G0RWwbYB7CKWmVfZFOTE3C961JWPdM9PFbuqAo5xzr5hgemlfpdN9reGc8KpB-m3vyvmheGPF8vE5l1Zfzf5309hxIYGsrHKOTSD1qssFgZBRpHEo3j_PNYqwCfd7UJppzau9GrZnb3d/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_G0RWwbYB7CKWmVfZFOTE3C961JWPdM9PFbuqAo5xzr5hgemlfpdN9reGc8KpB-m3vyvmheGPF8vE5l1Zfzf5309hxIYGsrHKOTSD1qssFgZBRpHEo3j_PNYqwCfd7UJppzau9GrZnb3d/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
She grasped the concept immediately, but we still struggled with daily accidents for a solid month or more. She is now 99% accident free and I am loving no diapers.<br />
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The only drawback I have found to having Siri potty trained (could there really be one?) is that she soon figured out that if she wants our attention, all she has to do is tell us she needs to pee. This is especially frustrating during church/sacrament meeting when she asks to use the restroom constantly.<br />
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One of Siri's funnier attributes is her ability to cheer up. She will throw a fit over nothing and in one second flat will be in hysterics. When she does this we tell her to go to her room, and usually she obeys. She will toddle to her room, crying hysterically, close her door, cry for about 30 more seconds, then come out laughing! It's ridiculous and we can't figure out why she becomes so happy so quickly; but, we love it. I keep meaning to get it on video.<br />
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I would say that Siri has James wrapped around her finger, except that she doesn't. He loves her to death, and is a bit of a push over when she asks for things, but I have also seen him put his foot down. That's a relief. Regardless, those two have WAY too much fun with each other. They are two peas in a pod. They must have bonded instantly when James delivered her.<br />
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Siri is still working on growing her hair. It is finally long enough to put it in ponies, but she just pulls them out. I guess she hates how they feel, having not had anything in her (complete lack of) hair for the first two years of her life.<br />
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That is our Siri. I know I'm leaving out a million fun details about her life and personality, but this is all I got for now.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-23594064735745906172013-09-17T07:54:00.001-07:002013-09-17T07:54:53.096-07:00I'm Stronger Than I Think<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
About 2 years ago I tried to make running a part of my exercise regime. It didn't work. I recall thinking, I could totally run a mile, no big deal. So, I charted out a mile through my neighborhood, promised myself there would be NO walking, and took off. It was terrible. I hated it. I walked for about 1/4 of it, and didn't think that last step would come soon enough. How did people run, and like it? It was beyond me. I tried a couple more times to go running, but I just couldn't get past the pain. The horrible pain. </div>
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A couple months of recovery and I decided that I really wanted to be a runner. Truly. All my friends ran, so that meant I could too. I decided then and there that I was going to sign up for a race, about 10 months from then, called the Temple 2 Temple Steeple Chase. It is a 5 mile run from the Oquirrh Mountain Temple to the Jordan River Temple. In April of 2012 I began to run. I only made it a quarter of a mile on that first run before I had to walk. I walked a lot that first month. I didn't have any specific way of training myself, other than to make sure I ran further the next day then I did the day before. I discovered something very important that way. IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD! Well, most of it is anyway. The pain is real, but the ability to go one more step resides mostly in your head. </div>
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The Steeple Chase was in September. The week before the race I had James drive me 4 miles away from home, and I ran home. It was rough! I came home with numb toes, but proud of myself. I still didn't know if I could run 5 miles in a week, but I was willing to try. </div>
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Come race day, I was a bundle of nerves, but I easily finished that run. All 5 miles of it. No walking. </div>
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I cannot explain how proud I was of myself. I think I wore my medal all day.<br />
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Some ladies in my ward caught wind of what I had done, and asked if they could start running with me. Just like that, I had a support group of runners. We were a cool sight, if I do say so myself. 5 women running in the dark hours of morning. One of them became a close friend, Kellie, and we decided that we wanted to run a 10K; a first for both of us. For those of you who don't know, a 10K is just over 6 miles.<br />
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Running Scared was the name of our Halloween themed 10K race. It was so much fun to dress up and run! I was shocked when not even a mile into it, I go the worst side ache and wanted SO BADLY to stop. But, I didn't, and Kellie stayed by me the whole time.<br />
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One of our other friends who ran with us had done a 1/2 marathon and bragged about how much she had loved doing it. Kellie and I were like, "pshhh, no way would we EVER run for that long". Except then, darn that Kellie, she started saying things like, "Alicia, I really think we could do it". Let's just say that I give into peer pressure very easily. Not long after that, I signed myself up for a 1/2 marathon, The Big Cottonwood 1/2 Marathon. I had all winter and summer to train...</div>
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Last winter was brutal. James and I moved to Idaho so I no longer had a running companion. The temperatures were in the negatives most days, so running outside was out of the question, and I have no treadmill. I tried to be very diligent about exercising in other ways so that when spring came, I could handle running again. </div>
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Once spring arrived, it felt awesome to run. Who knew?</div>
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I trained for most of the summer, waking up at very early hours on some days so that I could be home before James had to go be his farmer self. </div>
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September 13th, my family drove to Utah, and in the early morning hours of the 14th, with AC/DC getting me started, I ran 13.1 miles. No walking. Nadda. Not even when grabbing a drink of water. I was so determined not to stop, and I didn't! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPt6E1R53ZaZ_cajPXwV9-Y3nDnxzrP4mQLRZ76TVJcs4yUagfRzFHHy3xuX_TI_clRBoJlGE-ceL1d23_XOkFyUqh_1Tp6Z0lvJ7HRzhUQRBrOjqIHlXwaHkq-Jz39NO5vCnhCHF5ghX/s1600/100_2936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPt6E1R53ZaZ_cajPXwV9-Y3nDnxzrP4mQLRZ76TVJcs4yUagfRzFHHy3xuX_TI_clRBoJlGE-ceL1d23_XOkFyUqh_1Tp6Z0lvJ7HRzhUQRBrOjqIHlXwaHkq-Jz39NO5vCnhCHF5ghX/s320/100_2936.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I just crossed the finish line. I look super happy, do I not? In my defense, I didn't know a picture was being taken.<br />
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James argued that I should be the only one in the picture, but I insisted that my whole family be with me. James could not have been a better support system and cheer leader for me. I absolutely could not have done this race if he hadn't continually told me how impressed and proud he was of me. My kids were also very interested in me running, always asking me if I had been running yet for the day. Logan has taken an interest in running, and he is excited to run in a race too.<br />
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Check out my HUGE medal! I would have worn it all day, but the dang thing is SO heavy!<div>
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It is now 3 days later and I am able to mostly walk. The race was down hill through the canyon and it made my legs SUPER DUPER SORE! I had no idea I would feel like this. Down hill running can really do some damage. </div>
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I loved it. </div>
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James wants to do it now. :) </div>
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I will do it again. </div>
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Maybe a marathon. Maybe. One day. </div>
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When Logan saw me at my most exhausted, he asked why I was running if it made me tired and hurting. I told him I was doing it because I wanted to do something hard. I fear that too many of us take the easy way out of things. We don't try to do the things we secretly want to do because they seem too hard. I took on a personal challenge to do something hard, and I did it. I feel like the biggest winner. </div>
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If you are reading thing, I challenge you to pick something you've always wanted to do, but never have because it's hard. Do it. Feel like a winner, like me! I fear that all too soon that feeling will fade, but wen i does, I will be ready to choose that next challenge.<br /><br /></div>
The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-72400169309285131732013-06-24T13:04:00.000-07:002013-06-24T13:04:19.077-07:00Logan Turns 7!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Logan turned 7 on Saturday. He had a great day. We started the morning with his tower of donuts. 7 of them, to be exact. </div>
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Following donuts, he opened he birthday cards and presents. Our home teacher, who hasn't even been our home teacher long enough yet to have made an actual visit, brought Logan a card with $5!<br />
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Notice Siri, ready to pounce on some donuts.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBMgbStLmBMz0bMz4O_2N6_RfEEZbqPVq_gODBONuolKSJhIMF472ngIVb-bbTtakTrwq_GNEt0TrBRjNf2wLmdewDDZVk4x07IYEfy9iTaTPRSChL8qKMRzDnDY8s3W-rqSnDFmUBjdd/s1600/100_2827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBMgbStLmBMz0bMz4O_2N6_RfEEZbqPVq_gODBONuolKSJhIMF472ngIVb-bbTtakTrwq_GNEt0TrBRjNf2wLmdewDDZVk4x07IYEfy9iTaTPRSChL8qKMRzDnDY8s3W-rqSnDFmUBjdd/s320/100_2827.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
James and I gave him a shirt and a bag of hot chips. He was very excited about the chips.<br />
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His Grandma Ward, drove up to spend the day with him on his birthday. She also spoiled him rotten with gifts. Something about turning 7 means she goes overboard with the gifts. Logan has already informed us that he knows he will get lots of "church" presents for his birthday next year. Smart kid.<br />
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He spent the day playing with his cousin, Morgan, before we all went to Grandma Idaho's house for dinner and cake.<br />
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Logan requested a cake with Logan/Wolverine on it. Appropriate, since we named him after Wolverine.<br />
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After cake, James rode up to the house with Logan's main present from us, a green machine. It's basically a glorified big wheel.<br />
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He pretty much loves it and so does James. James and his siblings had a green machine growing up, so it was fun seeing all them be excited for Logan to get his green machine.<br />
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I seem to be missing the pictures I took of Logan opening his presents from his Grandma Idaho. She got him some clothes and candy. I'm surprised how much Logan likes clothes, but he was excited to wear his new pajamas that night and outfit the next day.<br />
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It really was the perfect day for Logan. I can't believe my baby boy is 7.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-46283824085684204082013-05-17T21:08:00.002-07:002013-05-18T06:28:34.611-07:00Ricky Nelson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This was my first love. Ricky Nelson. Isn't he dreamy?</div>
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I fell in love with him before I was even 5 years old. When my family made {long} road trips, we would listen to Ricky's cassette tapes. I'm sure we listened to more than just Ricky, but for whatever reason, I fell in love with him and his music. Nothing brings the nostalgia like listening to some good ol' Ricky Nelson. Unfortunately, he's not exactly radio play. Not that I listen to the radio...but you get the point.<br />
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Insert Pandora.<br />
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It occurred to me a couple of weeks ago, when I was <i>really</i> itchin' for some Ricky, that I could make a station on Pandora that would be sure to play his music. So that's just what I did. I am So. So. happy with it.<br />
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Not only does Ricky bless my ears every few songs, but all the filler songs bring their own kind of nostalgia, and I love it. The best part is that I already know all of the songs, thanks to many factors including my parents, and movies like, <i>Back to the Future, Now and Then, Dirty Dancing, Clue</i>, and others. (The only con to this music is that it has, at times, made me miss my dad.)<br />
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Not only does this music make my heart happy, but it makes my feet dance. They can't help it. I'm starting to think I was born in the wrong era. Thankfully, music lives on forever.<br />
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I have some Ricky Nelson stories, if you're interested in them. Ok, stop reading now, if you aren't interested.<br />
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When I was between the ages of 5-7, when I felt sad, I would find our Ricky Nelson cassette tapes and play them while cuddled up with the stereo.<br />
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One one of our many road trips, one of the Ricky Nelson cassette tapes bit the dust. (It was well used.) Mom threw it out the window and when we stopped at the next gas station, we bought another Ricky tape.<br />
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When I was 12, I called the "oldies" radio station and requested my favorite Ricky song, <i>That's All She Wrote</i>, and stayed up until midnight waiting for them to play it. They never did.<br />
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A good friend in high school, Trent, bought me a Ricky CD for my birthday. I don't know where it is, and that makes me sad.<br />
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My pick-up, that I drove in high school, was broken into one night, and when I realized things were missing, the first thing I went looking for was above mentioned Ricky Nelson CD. The thieves apparently did not share my love for good music. Whew.<br />
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I read a biography about Ricky when I was in middle school. For fun.<br />
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James found, and pirated, a copy of my favorite Ricky song before we were even dating. That's where my love for him began.<br />
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Holy Cow, I can think of even more stories! I promise, I'm not obsessed with him because I don't even own any of his music, but now I realize that I certainly wouldn't mind if I did. Until that day, thank goodness for Pandora.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCoLV2Yxq0I0l6pp736ClV-YiGTsD2VS5D3ffFg6bhAADdTIxKa10VhYjXlT4Di2zSosmOrNHGjfJPAgX_DuP0ziOosSyO1QTj9tHkKjiCP1Ums8qG7pfq1u0kyns4EC2JIqAuHtHaBM/s1600/Ricky+Nelson+-+The+American+Dream+-+Front1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCoLV2Yxq0I0l6pp736ClV-YiGTsD2VS5D3ffFg6bhAADdTIxKa10VhYjXlT4Di2zSosmOrNHGjfJPAgX_DuP0ziOosSyO1QTj9tHkKjiCP1Ums8qG7pfq1u0kyns4EC2JIqAuHtHaBM/s320/Ricky+Nelson+-+The+American+Dream+-+Front1.JPG" width="317" /></a></div>
Fun fact:<br />
Ricky Nelson had twin boys who also started their own music group, called <i>Nelson</i>. Their music is nothing like their father's music. Too bad.<br />
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*Update: James combed through our never used pile of CDs and found not 1, but 2 Ricky Nelson CDs! Woot!The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-54987716401727747102013-04-30T05:00:00.000-07:002013-04-30T06:37:29.948-07:00A DecadeRoses are red<br />
Violets are blue<br />
10 years ago, today<br />
I married you<br />
<br />
I've cherished each minute<br />
Of every day<br />
You make me so happy<br />
I just wanted to say<br />
<br />
I love you so much<br />
And I know you love me too<br />
Thanks for all of the memories<br />
My life is blessed- due to you<br />
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Then</div>
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And now</div>
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<b><u>10 Years, A History</u></b>:<br />
<br />
10- Years we've been married<br />
9 - Times that we've moved<br />
8 - Temples we've gone to together<br />
7 - Cars we've owned, as long as you count your work vehicle<br />
6 - Times we've been pregnant<br />
5 - Sets of couches<br />
4 - Mattresses we've shared (not counting the kids')<br />
3 - Crazy kids<br />
2 - Dogs we didn't keep<br />
1 - Happy Family<br />
0 - Regrets<br />
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Happy Anniversary Pie!The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-11037299683449954952013-04-27T10:11:00.000-07:002013-04-27T10:11:21.221-07:00My Sleeping Beauties/Blessings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
James has got to be the most helpful husband and father on the planet. I have yet to meet another husband that does as much to help me and the kids as James does. (I'm sure they exist, but I'm totally partial to James.) I don't know why James is as great as he is, because from what I hear, his Dad lived to work and not much else. He was the type that literally changed zero diapers. To contrast that, sometimes James gets mad at me when I won't let him change a diaper. Or do the laundry. Or clean the dishes. No joke. </div>
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With all that being said, I feel a lot more frazzled lately. Spring has sprung, and that means James leaves at 6:00 in the morning, and doesn't get home until 9:00 or later, at night. I've lost my helper. </div>
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This has done two things to me. Number one, I've become just a little more crazy and earned more gray hairs, and number two, I've had to focus a lot more on my kids and I've grown to love them just a little bit more. </div>
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Logan</div>
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Logan is the king of arguing, bargaining, etc. Holy cow is it annoying. But he is also very sensitive to when I am over my head crazy and can't handle his "not listening" a second longer. He knows when to give a much needed hug and will often vow to listen better and be the best boy he can be. He begs for one of us to cuddle with him at night and just talk. Oh boy, how I hope that never changes. </div>
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Elizabeth</div>
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She is the cuddle bug in our family. This girl is so touchy feely that you don't know if you want to scream because she keeps stroking your face, or if you want give her the biggest bear hug in appreciation for loving you unconditionally. She will cry at the drop of a hat if you say something mean to her, but if she nearly cuts a limb off, she is basically as cool as a cucumber. The girl can take pain. She is our sensitive, tough child. </div>
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Siri</div>
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I was thumbing through my sparsely written in journal the other day, and noticed something. A lot of my entries mention how much Siri cries. {sigh} It can be so draining. When this (nearly 2!) baby isn't crying, she is cracking us up. She has got the most amazing facial expressions and she knows how to use them to her advantage to get what she wants. In fact, she is most often referred to as the face she is currently making. "Crazy Face", "Naughty Face", "Mean Face", "Happy Face". She has the most nicknames of anybody I know. She is one smart cookie too. Perhaps that comes from being number three, but she catches on to things very quickly, and I am crazily contemplating starting potty training. We're going to give it a go in about 2 weeks. She is so spunky and she keeps us on our toes, in a good and bad way. </div>
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Speaking of my kids, it's time to feed them lunch. </div>
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<br />The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-69202803315623934642013-04-02T14:11:00.000-07:002013-04-02T14:11:59.519-07:00New Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For those of you who haven't caught on yet, we moved our family to Idaho during the Thanksgiving break. James grew up here and is now working for his brother on the family farm. James worked on this farm his whole life, so in every way possible, he is returning home. </div>
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How do I feel about this, you ask? Yeah, a lot of people ask me that. Well, I don't know exactly how I feel about it. If I don't over analyze this question and just offer my gut reaction, I would say I am liking it a lot. Just take a look at my surroundings!</div>
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I walk out my front door and all I can see is fields. To be more specific, the Mickelsen's fields. It is spring, and that means James is working a lot, but I can easily keep my eye on him, and even drive out to say hi or drop off a kid. Logan spent a lot of his spring break in the tractor with James while they planted the wheat.</div>
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It's not a farm that people picture in their minds with the big red barn and tons of animals. In fact there are only 4 animals on the whole farm and they are these 4 cows. </div>
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They are just past our front yard and it is James' job to feed them every day. They are not milk cows, so nothing exciting happens with them, but the kids still enjoy visiting them every once in a while. </div>
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For whatever reason, the cows really like Siri. One got a good lick on her face. All that gunk on her face is cow tongue residue. Lovely.</div>
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We live in a cozy house. It's small by most peoples standards, but it fits us just great. The house we live in was built by James' grandpa, and nearly every person in James' family has lived here at one point. Some of them longer than others. It's been updated a time or two, but still needs some TLC in certain spots. </div>
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The most important thing, to me, is that our kids are happy. Since we've lived here, Logan has fallen in love with The Phantom of the Opera music. He even bought the movie with his own money. </div>
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I started the soundtrack one Saturday morning, and Logan and Lizzy got all their blankets and pillows and got comfy for the next hour just listening to it.<br />
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I have two beautiful, happy girls. I guess Lizzy looks a little drugged up in this picture, but she's not. I promise. She's dying to go to school, but she has one more year. I promised I would put her in preschool. Luckily, there is a great preschool teacher way out here in the country. We are both looking forward to it.<br />
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Our bald baby, Siri, is finally growing some hair. Not all of it is growing, but there is enough that we can make her look like a girl by adding a "palm tree". That's a term my mom used when I was a kid, and I have carried it on. Lizzy tells me every day that she does NOT want a palm tree in her hair, but she loves them on Siri. Siri is our most challenging child in many ways, but the worst way was her lack of sleeping. Soon after moving here, we put her in the same room as Lizzy, and her sleeping habits have improved 10 fold. I take that as a sign that she likes it here too.<br />
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Logan, Lizzy, and Siri generally all play well together. Their latest craze is pushing Siri around in this baby stroller. Logan and Lizzy fight over who gets to push her. They run her up and down our LONG hallway at full speed. You can also see James napping. That's something he did a lot of this winter when he had no obligation to do anything work related for a solid two months. Yep, his job is that hard.<br />
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Logan reached a big milestone since we moved here. He lost his first two baby teeth! None of his other teeth are even remotely wiggly yet...<br />
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We had a happy Easter Sunday, despite the look on Siri's face. I really enjoyed this Easter. My mind was very focused on what it means that our Savior has atoned for each of us and that he broke the bands of death. I was truly touched by that sacrifice and miracle. I couldn't have asked for a better day, seeing as we got to spend the whole day with our small and extended family.<br />
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Back to the question I am asked frequently, "how do I feel about living here"? I hate analyzing that question because I get just a little panicky. Neither James nor I know what the future holds. Will James work for his brother just this year, or permanently? If he doesn't work here next year, where will he work? If we do stay, that opens up a whole new list of fears that I don't want to address. I really struggle with this. Truth is, I just worry too much and don't put enough faith in my Heavenly Father.<br />
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Truth is, I have no room to complain. I see too many people who are significantly worse off than we are. We have everything we could possibly need and more. We just have uncertainty looming over our heads. No big deal. The real truth is that I am happy because I have James. James gave me my beautiful children. My life is wonderful. I'm happy to be living here and I'm thrilled to see James happy with his job. I also love, love, love, living by so many family members. All of them are my in-laws, which society tells me I should hate, but I don't. They are too good to me.<br />
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I'm a lucky gal.<br />
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Ok, so farm life it is. That means I need to plant a big garden and get some chickens. No horses. James said no horses. I didn't want them anyway.<br />
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<br />The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-49487640189059098312013-03-02T10:31:00.001-08:002013-03-02T10:31:37.342-08:00Sisters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It is becoming clear to me that I don't take pictures of Logan any more, because I don't have any of him! But, I do spend a lot of time with these two girls, and I think they are both super cute. There are no fun stories to go with these pictures per say, so just enjoy the cuteness and say thank you. </div>
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Both girls ready for church.<br />
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After about three attempts at a normal pose with Lizzy, this was the best one I got.<br />
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I made some oreos last week. I had the filling in a piping bag and I walked away from it at one point. Siri quickly found it and commandeered it to be her own.<br />
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Lizzy wanted to play outside one day and as always I told her to make sure she put on a coat and gloves. When I looked out the window, this is what I saw. Gloves, two jackets, snow boots, and a swim suit. At least she listened to me.<br />
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Such a cute girl. James is one hundred percent smitten with her. Unfortunately, I am more jaded, but I love how much he loves her. Every one in church has figured out who Siri is too. She stands on the bench and grins for everyone behind us. People will make face at her and she will bust up laughing. It's a bit irreverent. We do our best to keep her turned in the right direction. </div>
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I was trying to take a picture of the girls in their new clothes so I could send it to their grandma. I only took two shots, but I figured these were the only two needed. Siri is smiling good for one of them and Lizzy is...<br />
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well, she was Lizzy. We call these her crazy eyes, and she has been showing them off to us at random times ever since she was 12 months old.<br />
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Siri is just about 20 months old. She goes to nursery without a hitch, for which is I am so happy about it. She has also started talking! Woot woot! She graces us with some choice phrases, like "sit down", "get down", "good night", "I love you", and some others that I can't think of at the moment. Obviously these are the things we say most often to her. My mom is the first one to notice, and I have caught her in the act too, of Siri singing Twinkle Little Star. It is more like, "duh buh, buh da la ba duh, duh mah do do la bah duh". You get the picture. No words, but definitely the tune. So, so cute!<br />
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Lizzy is our most loving child. She loves to sit with, on, by, me. Always me. James will substitute for her when I'm not around. She will sit by me and stroke my face, or hold onto my arm. It really is sweet, but by the end of the day I start feeling a bit claustrophobic. If I walk by her, she will lunge out to grab and hold onto me. If I ask her for a little bit of space you would think I had just killed a puppy based off of her reaction. Lizzy makes a great little companion, and I am blessed to be her mother.<br />
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<br />The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-80185945463929369322013-02-16T13:56:00.003-08:002013-02-16T13:56:53.142-08:0010th Anniversary Las Vegas Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
James and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this April, but due to April being super busy for farmers (that would be James) we decided we needed to celebrate early. We also didn't want to spend a lot of money on our trip, so that morphed into a trip to Vegas.</div>
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Logan stayed with his Grandma Idaho so he wouldn't miss school, and Grandma Ward took care of our two little girls.</div>
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This cute girl fell asleep on the way to Utah. </div>
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The view as we drove into Vegas. It looked much more impressive in person. We stopped to eat at McDonalds before we checked in to our hotel. A scary looking homeless guy walked in and filled (stole) his water bottle with coke and then left again. We saw him a few times while in Vegas. He was sleeping on the sidewalk at night and the next day we saw him walking around with a pricey looking cell phone. Maybe he took that from McDonald's too.<br />
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The first day we were in town, we went to the temple and did a session. I was happy about it too.<br />
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James felt a stranger emotion about it.<br />
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We found a security guard to take our picture so we could prove we were there together.<br />
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This picture was taken to test the flash on our camera, but I kept it to show off our hotel room hall way. We stayed at the Stratosphere.<br />
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My family lived in Vegas about 15 years ago. It was only for two years, but I still have fond memories of our house, so we drove by to take a picture.<br />
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This is the view from the very top of the Stratosphere. This is the strip. We forgot to take a picture at night.<br />
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This is one of the three rides the Stratosphere has at the top of the building. We bought a buy one get one free all day pass to ride the rides. Lets just say, we got our moneys worth, and the ride operators knew who we were by the end of the night.<br />
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The next day we drove to Red Rock National Park. We went on a couple of hikes and spent about 4 hours there. It was fun and tiring and beautiful.<br />
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I was too chicken to stand up on this rock. James doesn't understand the feeling of vertigo, and he made fun of me. Jerk.<br />
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After he made fun of me, he picked up a rock and wrote this message for me/us. J+A 2/14/2013. I love him.<br />
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One of the hikes led us to a "waterfall" which was really just a trickle of water. Upon the water trickles landing, it froze. I thought the frozen water was way cool looking, so I had James take our picture together. I was getting dripped on from the "waterfall" during this picture.<br />
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Can you find James?<br />
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All in all, we really liked Red Rock, and we will definitely go again if we are ever in Vegas again.<br />
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That night, we got spiffied up and hit Fremont Street. I read reviews of it online and learned that there would be lots of weirdos on Fremont Street. The reviews were accurate. Almost right off the bat, a man dressed as Austin Powers asked James if he could buy his jacket off of him. We saw a few local people who came with their little "act" as a way of asking for money. This guy was our favorite.<br />
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Yes, this is a guy.<br />
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He was dancing and asking for tips. Another favorite was a guy dressed as cupid, with the butt cut out on his pants.<br />
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We were on Fremont Street so we could attend a comedy magic show by a guy named Mike Hammer. It was a fun, clean show, which we really appreciated. Mike would include people in the audience to be part of his magic tricks. I got to go on the stage so he could hide my cell phone and make it reappear Sadly, James was so entranced with the sight of his beautiful wife on stage, that he did not think to take my picture.<br />
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We managed to steer clear from any sin like activities, including gambling, and we had an AWESOME time.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-4222076316216890842013-01-30T15:59:00.001-08:002013-01-30T15:59:44.467-08:0018 months of Crazies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We've celebrated a big milestone in our family this month. Siri turned 18 months. All you lds church goers knows what that means! Of course, we're still working on her to stay in the nursery both hours without us...it will happen soon.</div>
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In the spirit of my baby turning into a toddler, I thought I would post just about her. Let me start you off with this cute video of my dancing Siri Crazy Girl.</div>
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She has recently discovered that she can start music on the piano herself, so this has been a common sight the last few weeks.<br />
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Our little girl thinks that she's a little boy. She plays hard and laughs in the face of danger. When we first moved here, about 2 months ago, she climbed up the stairs on the bunk bed and tried to get off the top bunk without using the stairs. We waited a few days before taking her to the doctor, hoping she would start using her arm, but she didn't, so we went. After a long day chasing down a few different doctors, it was confirmed that she broke clean through her humorous bone. No cast though.<br />
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A favorite game around our house is to turn out the lights, run around and scare each other. We call it Creeper. Siri LOVES this game. She runs around the house squealing in absolute delight. One night our creeper game transitioned into dancing like hooligans with the strobe light. Siri ran through the kitchen, screaming in delight, slipped on the linoleum floor, banged her head on the kitchen cupboard, and screamed in pain.<br />
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As you can see, she earned herself a nice sized goose egg.<br />
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Oh Siri...you exasperate and delight us. I could give countless examples, but I'll share just one.<br />
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Siri has always struggled to sleep through the night, or to sleep past 5:00 in the morning. About a month ago we decided to move her out of the pack n' play onto a mattress on the floor, thinking that it was more comfortable and would help her sleep through the night. It worked for 2 weeks! She slept like a champ for basically the first time in her life. Then it stopped. She wakes up crying several times a night. We rarely do anything, and eventually she stops crying on her own. (Sometimes she needs a pat on the head.) This exasperates us. But, what delights us, is when it's 7:30, and time for bed, we tell her to go get in bed, and the good little girl that she is, takes off running for her bed, hops in, and pulls up her blankets. All by herself. So cute.<br />
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Siri, your dad named you Monster the day you were born. It was a self fulfilling prophecy, I'm afraid. We often comment to each other that it is a good thing that you are so cute. :)<br />
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You are a little obsessed with cereal.<br />
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Every morning you get out a bowl and whine to us until we let you fill up your bowl with cereal YOURSELF!<br />
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All of your craziness is easily forgiven, because you love us. You give us plenty of loves and kisses. Thank you for that. And thanks for being our Monster Crazy. We love you to pieces.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-15426598048366171292013-01-17T08:58:00.000-08:002013-01-17T08:58:36.036-08:00Our Family Has Grown...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
by four paws.</div>
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Lizzy asked Santa for a puppy for her Christmas present. She was totally un-phased when she opened her present that had a picture of our new dog, Twix. Regardless of her dud-like reaction, she loves him to pieces. Logan is always nervous that Twix will bite, but he still loves to play with him and take him on walks. The person who should show the most fear of Twix is the one that shows the least fear of him, and that is Siri. He has nipped her a few times when she's tried to sit on him, poke his eyes, or pull his tale. They are getting used to each other though.<br />
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I'll admit that I might love Twix the most. I love dogs. Always have. It just feels right to have him here, but I still feel anxious about his presence because James hates that we have an indoor dog. I think Twix feels James' hate, because he has a tendency to leak pee when James comes near him. He's never done that with me.<br />
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Twix is a pure bread shih tzu. He seems a bit dumb, but he is potty trained, and that's all that I really care about. We have fun with him and I think he is happy here. He likes to check out the cows, and the last few nights he has sneaked into our room to be with us. I think that's a good sign that he likes me at least.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-37457355460920820592012-12-24T16:32:00.001-08:002012-12-24T16:32:31.532-08:00Happy 4th, Lizzy!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My sweet Elizabeth Dixie turned 4 on the 20th. She had her donut tower for breakfast and ate candy for lunch. I think she was happy about that. </div>
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...and happy to have Happy Birthday sung to her twice in the same day.<br />
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Opening presents...though I did forget to take a picture of her with all of her gifts.<br />
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That's her Grandma Dixie patting her on the head.<br />
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Lizzy asked for a kitty cake for her birthday, so I went with Hello Kitty. If you notice the picture above, you'll see that Siri stole a pearl off of Kitty's necklace.<br />
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I hope you had a happy birthday Lizzy.<br />
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Now that you are 4 you keep asking me if you are a big girl. I tell you yes, but then you point out that you haven't really grown any bigger. You asked me why you aren't as big as me yet. :) <br />
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You are the biggest Momma's girl I have ever seen. You say you love Dad, but sometimes Dad and I both wonder if you really do. All you want is Mom. Always.<br />
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You are a girly girl, but not really. You love to wear skirts, even if it's freezing outside, but you hate to have your hair done, even though you love to admire yourself in the mirror when it's done. You always ask to wear my lipstick and you want your nails painted. All that aside, you love to play hard and when you fall and get hurt, you stand up quickly and get back to playing. You rarely cry from getting hurt, but you always cry if someone looks at you the wrong way. Such a girl!!!<br />
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Sweet Lizzy, you have such an attitude and you are not afraid to tell a person that they are making you mad. On the flip side, when you are happy, you have the CUTEST little girl voice known to man. In fact, many people comment on how cute your voice sounds.<br />
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I'm sure there are many more wonderful qualities about you that I have failed to mention, but just know how much your dad and I both love you. Our family would not be complete with out our Sweet Stinks.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-46280333397161714312012-12-02T09:02:00.000-08:002012-12-02T09:02:07.862-08:00Filling in the Gaps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
These are the random pictures that have no affiliation with any one particular event. As I was uploading them, I commented to James that we didn't have any of Lizzy. Shame on me. I don't take very many pictures as it is, but she's pretty darn cute, so I should do a better job of taking pictures of her. </div>
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We call Siri, "Monster" often enough that I guess she's taken it to heart. Keep scrolling down and you'll see a similar picture to this one. Apparently we think she's cute as the Hulk because I took this picture of her and James took the other one.<br />
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We got together with some of James' family to witness his sister, Becky, and husband, Scott, get sealed. When we went to dinner afterwards, one of the strange topics of conversation was about how James and one of his other sisters, Jenny, put candy corn on their teeth every candy corn season. Naturally, when candy corns became available for purchase, James put them right on his teeth. He's a dork, but I love him.<br />
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Logan got to bring "Pete the Cat" home from school. He is their class mascot. When I went in to check on Logan after he was asleep, I found him like this. He is becoming a big kid, so I thought I'd better record this bit of cuteness before he outgrows it.<br />
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Siri has trouble sleeping past 6:00, but one morning she was up at 5:00 AM. James got up with her and at 7:00 she was falling asleep again. Go figure. They both took a morning nap together at 7:00 AM. Again, a bit of cuteness that I needed to record.<br />
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Santa, Siri, Hulk Monster.<br />
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Logan and I went to Chick-fil-A's "Mother and Son Date Knight". We went with friends and it was fun. I love that little squirt. Like I said, he is growing up so fast.<br />
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He was a nervous wreck when he started kindergarten and even the first day of first grade was a bit traumatic for him. As a result, I was a nervous wreck when we switched schools, moving to Idaho. I thought for sure he would have a break down, or refuse to get on the school bus, but he played it so calm, I was shocked! Prayers are answered and I'm grateful for that.<br />
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As I type this, he is tying Lizzy's Sunday dress for her (a little crooked, but hey, he can tie it!) and he found a shrug for her to help keep her warm. He doesn't do the best job of being a protective big brother; he is more of the, pester his little sisters to death, kind of big brother. But every once in a while he does something like help Lizzy get dressed, and it's good to see him taking care of somebody else. One more example of how big and grown up he is getting.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-59930760682118290912012-12-01T10:16:00.000-08:002012-12-01T10:16:28.887-08:00Halloween 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and our Christmas decorations are already up, so naturally I am blogging about Halloween. But, it was one of the most enjoyable Halloween's I've had in a long time, so naturally I'd like to record it. </div>
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My running friend, Kelli, told me on one of our morning runs, that she wanted to throw a Halloween party. I thought that sounded like lots of fun, so I offered to help her with it. If you know me, then you know I volunteered to make all the desserts for the party. This is what I came up with.</div>
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Chocolate cat cookies<br />
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Meringue ghosts and donut hole eyeballs<br />
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Fudge filled chocolate mummy cupcakes. James actually insisted on decorating these himself.<br />
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Kelli decorated the pumpkins to give as costume prizes. I made the white chocolate popcorn hands. I got the idea from a friend, who undoubtedly got it from pinterest, but I'm not pinterest savy. Yet.<br />
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We played a bunch of Minute to Win It games. This is James trying to get the pennies out of a pair of nylons.<br />
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The day after our party, we carved our pumpkins.<br />
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I have such cute kids! The more kids you have, the bigger your challenge of getting all of them to look at the camera at the same time.<br />
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We all went trick or treating on Halloween night. We called ourselves "The Pirates of the Jordan River". Siri stayed home with Grandma to sleep.<br />
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While out gathering candy, we ran into a friend that James said hi to, but couldn't figure out who James was.<br />
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Seriously, a super fun Halloween season. The kids still ask how many more days until Halloween again.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-51371614285074754492012-11-29T15:08:00.001-08:002012-11-29T15:08:55.116-08:00Getting Settled and Catching Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's been nearly half a year since my last update, and I plan to change that habit. I've sort of been waiting for this change to happen and until it did, I think James and I put a lot of things on hold that we've both been wanting to make be habits. Random things really, but now that we are beginning to finally feel a little settled in our house, I think the changes are going to start happening. Like me blogging!</div>
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I just came home from getting our "new" van registered and saw this. James was mowing the leaves off the grass, and giving the kids a ride at the same time. When we lived here 7 years ago, mowing was my job. The brakes on this tractor mower only kind of work, so the job scared the heck out of me.<br />
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We lived in this house (that the farm owns) 7 years ago. We didn't live here long, just shy of a year, but that was long enough to make it feel like we were coming home again. Everything is so familiar and it's been an easy adjustment for me. The kids have loved it too, and that's a plus.<br />
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Before we moved in, James came up the week before and did TONS of work to the house. With the help of his nephew, every wall, door and ceiling got a fresh coat of paint, there is new linoleum and carpet in the whole house, they got to unclog the water line going to the house, fix the faucet on the tub, put in new pipes under the sink, a new faucet for the kitchen sink, and a bunch of other jobs I can't even think of. James is sick of the house work and is so excited that the jobs are nearly done. Of course, now we've discovered that the pipe the washer drains into is clogged, so his work isn't done yet.<br />
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While we were unpacking, we decided to just throw the Christmas tree up too; so even though we've been busy with unpacking the house, we still found time for Christmas.<br />
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Three days ago Siri was exploring the new adventure called the bunk beds. I thought she was playing with Lizzy in the play room, so when she started crying I didn't jump up right away. She wasn't crying very hard, but I had a thought flash in my mind that perhaps they had moved to Lizzy's room to play. I got up right then and found Siri lying on the floor next to the overturned laundry basket. I knew right away that she had fallen off the top bunk. We nearly took her to the doctor right then, but decided to wait a few hours to see how she felt. Long story short, we took her in two days later and found out that her right humorous is broken, but a cast would only make the broken arm worse. It is nerve wracking to watch your wobbly 1 year old walk around with a broken arm and no cast on it.<br />
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I'm out of time to write. Stay tuned for our past adventures.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-92165800961947746672012-07-07T12:41:00.000-07:002012-07-07T12:41:15.640-07:00Siri Turns 1!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Siri turned 1 on July 6th. When I woke up that morning I hadn't even decided if I wanted to celebrate that day or not, but my mom seems to run the show around here, so we celebrated on her actual birthday. I whipped up some Red Velvet cupcakes, made dinner, wrapper her present and called it "good to go". </div>
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Lighting a candle outside really isn't the best idea, but since she couldn't blow it out anyway, it didn't really matter. </div>
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She was the most interested in the sprinkles. She ate those first, then the frosting, then the cake.<br />
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Sprinkles...<br />
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Frosting....<br />
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Cake!<br />
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Her poo diapers have looked interesting today. That's some pretty powerful red food coloring.<br />
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She got some new clothes from Grandma-Idaho, books from Grandma Ward...<br />
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and a musical, talking, stuffed dog from Mom and Dad.<br />
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Fun party.<br />
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Let's see here...some fun facts about Siri...<br />
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-She has less hair today than the day she was born<br />
-Her eyes are still blue, which I can't believe. How have we made two blue eyed babies when James and I both have brown eyes?<br />
-She thinks she is the stair master, and in reality she actually is really good at them. I've stopped hovering around her when she is headed down the stairs.<br />
-Siri only has two teeth, so I still get creative on her meals, since I refuse to buy baby food. She is on whole milk and seems to enjoy it as long as it's warm. If it's the slightest bit chilly, she refuses to drink it.<br />
-She doesn't walk, which is shocking to me because she showed early signs of it. She will stand by herself for small increments of time.<br />
-She loves to "talk" to you. Her favorite thing to say is "Bah"! She'll yell it, say it softly, and growl it.<br />
-She tries to say "I love you". No joke. Sometimes she says it more clearly than others, but for the most part you can tell she is trying to repeat it back even though it sounds nothing like "I love you". I've also heard her say "Thank You" in much the same clarity. We've tried to get her to say other things, and she will make noises with the right amount of syllables.<br />
-She love, love, loves to play Peek-a-boo. She'll play with anybody or anything. Dirty clothes? Great for covering her head up with to pull off and say "BOO"! If she doesn't have clothes, her blanket or the kitchen towel, she will use her hands. She's less coordinated with those, but doesn't seem to mind if she's just covering her cheeks before she says "boo"!<br />
-She's got her dad wrapped around her finger. She has figured out how to prolong bed time if he is the one putting her down. She immediately initiates him in a game of peek-a-boo and she will laugh hysterically while playing. How is he supposed to walk away from that? Her sad little crocodile tears follow immediately his departure.<br />
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I'm sure there other fun facts about Siri, but they are hard to think of! Happy Birthday to our little girl, Siri!The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-27325911273198440112012-07-07T09:06:00.000-07:002012-07-07T09:06:47.118-07:00Our Happy 4th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It seems like we make a habit out of going to Idaho for the 4th of July. I let James go by himself (with Logan) last year because I was 9 months pregnant with this blue eyed beauty. </div>
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It's hard for me to imagine what she will look like with hair. One day I will know.<br />
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We tried to get a couple of cute pictures of our family before the day got underway.<br />
We went to the church in the morning to watch the flag raising ceremony and listen to a quick patriotic thought. After that we headed into town for the parade.<br />
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The kids were invited to ride on, what they called, a "tractor train".<br />
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They had to sit around waiting for a long time before the parade started, but they both refused to budge from their seats.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> This is James' sister, Kathy, and her kids. They got to ride in the parade too. </span><br />
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We spent a few hours later in the day riding on James' brother, Matt's boat. Matt was so nice to take person after person on rides on the tube. I didn't take the camera, so you'll have to use your imagination. Anyway, we had a lot of fun, but we all got a little sunburned despite the fact that we had sunscreen on.<br />
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Dixie, James' Mom, got a package of fireworks that we enjoyed after it was dark. It really was a perfect day, in my estimation.<br />
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Logan loves going to see his Idaho family. He can't get enough of the 4-wheeler, motorcycle, tractor, and playing with his cousins. Nothing makes me more happy than seeing my kids happy. I hope you all had a great Independence Day.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-11295999635935830172012-07-01T11:16:00.002-07:002012-07-01T11:16:36.052-07:00Fun With Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Life isn't that exciting, and we like it that way. We don't do a ton with our kids, like take them to the zoo, etc. The "fun" isn't worth the yelling and gray hairs. Ok, so we do that stuff sometimes, but it just isn't the norm for us. We play at home and we like it. </div>
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Siri has been getting into EVERYTHING lately. For example, Logan's underwear drawer.</div>
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She won't leave a bow on her head for more than 2 seconds, but she will crawl around with underwear on her head.<br />
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Maybe she is embarrassed about her bald head, so she covers it up.<br />
Siri has also mastered the stairs. Up and down. It gives me heart palpitations to watch her, but it's better than a gate, in my opinion.<br />
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Last week, Jame camped in the back yard with the kids. I slept in the house, just so Siri wouldn't be alone. ;)<br />
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They stayed up till after 11:00 watching Tales From the Crypt. They loved it and Lizzy in-particular has asked numerous times when they will do it again.The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199052831719368186.post-66101882631687460522012-07-01T11:08:00.000-07:002012-07-01T11:08:34.208-07:00Hair Band Concert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
James and his friend bought tickets to see Def Leppard in concert, but on the day of the concert, his friend got really sick and couldn't go. I really can't say that the 80's hair band era is my favorite kind of music, but I didn't want the ticket to go to waste, so I went to the concert with James. </div>
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First up was Leta Ford. She was horrible. She couldn't sing on pitch for the life of her. Luckily for her she had one fan there. He thought he was her drummer. Let your imagination go wild with that thought and you are probably pretty accurate as to how into her he was. </div>
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Next up was Poison. I think that was my favorite part of the night mostly because he was way better by Leta, and because I was bored by the time Def Leppard came out.</div>
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Here is a picture of Bret <i>with</i> his shirt on. James had assured me that he would probably be shirtless...so I was a bit disappointed. (Lest you think less of me, be assured that I was not really disappointed.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauzowYvNgev9Ps8eKPaE3IZQT0LcZhnupvzpK0fi5lukFruK2WuWOQ5C_1sX0K46JwT8_mqtImvIZzKBVD5Bmxkp0t7auzsshoazTQ8IQQzyQqPi5TFp-OCp0TRaUx1INnqVCSbcq3gvV/s1600/100_2336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauzowYvNgev9Ps8eKPaE3IZQT0LcZhnupvzpK0fi5lukFruK2WuWOQ5C_1sX0K46JwT8_mqtImvIZzKBVD5Bmxkp0t7auzsshoazTQ8IQQzyQqPi5TFp-OCp0TRaUx1INnqVCSbcq3gvV/s320/100_2336.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLBVsRCris9hQW9cpxpXprdgoR_YcJbE9LkUwMZ7G3NdfKBg0FIus0sP-NC5n6Z_m4MpK39lccVdg4iKq5RwsmTdwdi3CNDqLimnElY-azqrsGVI_Qr4K7_F7E-fxIZpbFagTXQnnN97H/s1600/100_2337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLBVsRCris9hQW9cpxpXprdgoR_YcJbE9LkUwMZ7G3NdfKBg0FIus0sP-NC5n6Z_m4MpK39lccVdg4iKq5RwsmTdwdi3CNDqLimnElY-azqrsGVI_Qr4K7_F7E-fxIZpbFagTXQnnN97H/s320/100_2337.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Look how happy James is to be at one of his favorite things - a concert.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidD1PKOIGAvPZz8v6C13SMvQD0TGXSXcKiJA_ruw63QqVGsIVI8xa5xP1wZREOHqXQiyL5oYGoTIWwRcINWA584fcGFaCjumlKrPWLXPRV5x8koqob7bp3oMMSBBU_-Vcm6fAIzToTN7O/s1600/100_2342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidD1PKOIGAvPZz8v6C13SMvQD0TGXSXcKiJA_ruw63QqVGsIVI8xa5xP1wZREOHqXQiyL5oYGoTIWwRcINWA584fcGFaCjumlKrPWLXPRV5x8koqob7bp3oMMSBBU_-Vcm6fAIzToTN7O/s320/100_2342.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Def Leppard finally came out and that's when the crazies came out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RmYqISNwDEnyiwxhjNfGUgSPvz__N0Jk-Lw-oIrslDuz0eBnGNRS8q170_Vex-3ve2K3R5yLP2zKKJHp3Z6Gei7RCAMj0vh2Z-nULF-T6WDt3ug_16p9mwJhLf_wLNGjhy9dZVBkrKm2/s1600/100_2343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RmYqISNwDEnyiwxhjNfGUgSPvz__N0Jk-Lw-oIrslDuz0eBnGNRS8q170_Vex-3ve2K3R5yLP2zKKJHp3Z6Gei7RCAMj0vh2Z-nULF-T6WDt3ug_16p9mwJhLf_wLNGjhy9dZVBkrKm2/s320/100_2343.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I definitely had more fun watching the drunk people and the inappropriate dancers. James loved the music, and I am in love with James.<br />
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We found out the next day that James' brother was there too. He lives in Idaho, so we're sad we didn't see each other there. </div>
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I think that was my first and last heavy metal concert. I'm glad I went just to say I did it because James has always wanted me to experience it. </div>The Mickelsen'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598945356607138424noreply@blogger.com0