D+L+s

RECALL NOTICE

2012-01-05T22:50:00.004-07:00

For Immediate Release
January, 2012

Lucasfilm is recalling certain episodes of its Star Wars Saga released between 1999 and the present, citing numerous safety and continuity issues identified by consumers. Major issues cited included:

Small children and Star Wars veterans may choke on loose plots and flimsy characters;
Overly flashy packaging and animations may cause epileptic seizures;
The brakes are known to not work, as it just keeps going and going and won't stop;
General inability to deliver on expectations or to perform per previously set standards;

Specific episodes in question are episodes #1, 2, and 3, and any current or future variations on these. Some recent revisions to episodes 4, 5, and 6, released in the late 1990s, are also in question. Consumers are strongly cautioned to stick with the original episodes (#4, 5, and 6, produced before 1997), and to avoid newer revisions and episodes if at all possible. Parents are strongly cautioned to limit or prevent their childrens' exposure to the questionable episodes as well.

Please send your copies of the Episodes in question to George Lucas, and include a copy of this notice with your request for a refund.

(By Dave)

Count Your Blessings!

2011-12-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

just do it!

Christmas with the Delicious Bass

2011-12-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

...that title may or may not be misleading.

This is Sophie (oh, really?) on a Merry-Go-Round at the Bass Pro Shop.
Which is now my new favorite Christmas Location.

Lindsey Insight Coming Your Way....

2011-12-05T23:10:00.001-07:00

We have all said it at one point or another in our lives.

"Sorry my house is dirty."

"The house is a mess, but come on in!"

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"

Okay, so maybe not the last one, but you'll see what I mean in a minute.

The past couple weeks I can count three different times when someone apologized for the mess in their house. I would like to make a public announcement about these Dirty House Statements. When you say your house is dirty all you are doing is drawing more attention to the Mess. (Gasp!) And here's another weird thing: Those three times I was in someone else's home, I didn't even NOTICE the mess until they said something! It's the same concept as "Don't look at the elephant in the corner." What are you going to do when someone says that to you? You're going to look at the pachyderm, of course!

So let's look at Dirty House Statement #2 "The house is a mess, but come on in!" Do you know what it really means? Either (1) "I would have rather that you called before you stopped by so that I could have made the front room presentable" or (2) "I wouldn't have cleaned this even if you did call before hand, I just would prefer that you don't come in" or (3) "I'm pretending the house isn't normally like this, but it actually is."

Now about Dirty Houses. I can honestly say that I once saw a "Dirty House" and was relieved about it. I once entered a lovely, cozy, well kept home. "This woman obviously has everything pulled together and has an amazing life!" I thought. Then a few weeks later I went over to her house again. It was pretty messy. I sighed within and felt at peace knowing that she wasn't perfect yet.

Conclusion: We do not need to make excuses for our homes when they are messy once in a while. Life happens. We get busy, something throws us off track, our kids are insane.

I definitely am not a clean freak or a perfectly organized CEO of the household. But I have sworn off saying, "Welcome to my home. My house is a mess. Please make yourself comfortable in between yesterday's Squashed Frozen Pizza and my daughter's freshly messed panties."
Okay, actually I may say that one day. But just for kicks.

**This post is not meant to offend anybody on their protocol on inviting people into their homes. Just take it as a general Lindsey opinion on her observations of life.**

The month of November? Oh yes! I love that month.

2011-12-04T12:33:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving Activities:

We had a great day of Giving Thanks down in the Old Pueblo. I have always loved the month of November because it is sandwiched in between Halloween (love) and Christmas (really, really love) and not to mention it is my birthday month. And, of course, Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, here's what happened on that eventful day:

Football.

More Football.

Family Walk.

I love Arizona Thanksgivings. Where else can you spend the whole day outdoors with no jacket?

My Birthday!

Yes, I am a quarter of a century old! Hooray!

Check out what my sister, Laura, gave me:

1940's Opera Glasses! What an awesome and completely random gift!

Phantom of the Opera here I come! (That is, when they come to town next and if we ever have money again after our large purchase this month).

Another Sophie Moment

(Dave calls this pic Sophie's Dramatic Teenager Pose)

So the other day Sophie and I are reading the Barney Opposite Book. We get to this page:

I ask Sophie pointing to the first picture, "What is this?"

"Bath!" was her reply.

Then I point to Barney toweling off. "What is this one?"

"Cold!"

Yes, Sophie. The opposite of Bath is Cold.

Monkey Prayers

2011-11-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

(monkey picture - coming soon!)

So, for today's fun tidbit of raising a toddler:
We were helping Sophie say her prayer tonight, and sometimes she likes to hold her stuffed animals and help them pray. Tonight it was big monkey's turn, and Sophie did a thorough job of it, folding his arms, bowing his head, and repeating the words of the prayer:

Mommy - "Dear Heavenly Father..."
Sophie - "Our dear Father"
Monkey (Sophie in higher-pitched voice) - "Dear Father"
Sophie - "Good Job!!"
Mommy and Daddy - (giggling)

Good to know that Sophie thinks compliments are part of the learning process, so I guess we're doing something right :)

Lindsey-added:
In other news...
The other night we were making brownies and wanted to watch a movie:
Lindsey - "Let's watch Inception or Pride and Prejudice."
Dave - (silence)
Lindsey - (gets out Inception)
Dave - "But I wanted to see Pride and Prejudice."

Here Comes the Bride.

2011-11-20T21:06:00.001-07:00

Dave keeps saying, "It's so weird to see Joseph kissing someone. He's still a baby to me!"

This weekend we celebrated the Joseph and Hannah's Wedding! It was a fabulous weekend. Here are a few of my favorite pics...

Brotherly Love.


This is probably my favorite.

This was the best part of the weekend. Seeing this girl show up for her photo shoot in this dress!!! The photo does not do it justice. :)

My two loves. Three if you count the Temple. :)

Things in life that make me happy

2011-11-10T22:13:00.001-07:00

#1
This girl. Duh!

#2
Homemade Crockpot Applesauce
Thanks to a certain Hawaiian Friend, the most amazing cinnamon-applely smells have been filling our house. I've already made two batches. This is seriously going to be a new Fall Tradition in this Joslin home.

#3
Time Out for Women
I have some awesome parents that made last weekend possible. All us girls in the Hancock clan ate lots of food, hung out at the mall, and stayed up late talking in the hotel room until the security guard shushed us. Oh yeah, and we listened to some awesome inspirational speakers!

For more TOFW pics, click here.

#4
We're getting closer to our house. I mean seriously close. It's kinda weird. But please--still keep your fingers crossed!

It's all about the lips...

2011-11-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Dave's Goatee

2011-10-30T20:33:00.003-07:00

Dave is all prepared for Halloween to be Mr. Tony Stark (complete with one mega-hot girl always hanging around him). This is kinda amazing in our household because Dave has always been anti-facial hair. He even went to church with it (which may not sound so incredible, but it is if you know Dave).

I think he looks like a bad guy in a movie or that one guy on Star Trek (Dave says his name is Reiker?).

What think ye?

I think he really looks like the Star Trek guy here.

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

2011-10-26T14:52:00.000-07:00


I will always remember Sophie like this--Hair blowing in her face!

Watch out. Mischievous 2 yr old coming your way!

New Toy

2011-10-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Were ya wondering what I was doing with all that millions of extra monies I was making teaching piano? Well, I bought a camera. I've been drooling over this camera for months (maybe even years) and now have it in my very own hands. Can I just tell you about the emotional anxiety I went through buying this? Have you ever saved up some money so that you can buy a house and then on top of that save up even more money to buy some expensive piece of equipment? Every day was a struggle of "What should I spend my money on?" Thankfully, Dave was there telling me to just buy the stupid camera! So I did. Thanks, Dave.

PS- More on the house situation later.

Quality Daddy-Daughter time. The book: The Difference Between Babies and Cookies. I picked it out.

Occasionally, I even let Dave us my camera.

Finally. A few pictures of ME on this blog!

I will now share with you a few Proud Mommy Moments:

Oct 2
This past week I was helping the Achievement Day Girls practice a special musical number for Church, "I Lived in Heaven." On our way out the door to go to the practice Sophie grabs this plastic stick that attaches to a bubble wand. When we got there Soph was real shy at first of all these young girls singing songs, so she stayed close to me on the piano bench and just watched. I had the girls get real close to the piano so I could hear them sing and as we rehearsed Soph used her plastic wand to conduct the girls. It was one of those proud Mommy moments where I just couldn't help but gush over my girl. I even think she might have been singing a little bit too. I'm real glad that she brought that plastic wand because it came in handy as I had the girls practice conducting each other with the same stick. (I got the idea from Sophie).

Oct 4
Last night Soph was already "in bed" and I was about to say my prayers when I hear her door squeak open and her little feet creep into my room. She said she wanted to lay down on Mommy's bed so I help her up and lay her on a pillow while I finish my prayers. As I'm praying, Sophie placed her little hand in mine and starts singing a couple lines form "I am a Child of God." (Lead me, guide me, walk beside me). It was the cutest thing and it just melted my heart. That's what precious little girls do--They melt your heart.

Oct 19
Sophie is officially potty trained! She's been in big girl panties for 4 weeks straight and getting more independent every day! Do you know what this means? It means I can leave Sophie at the Ikea babysitting club and go shopping by myself. (They don't except kids in diapers--I was really annoyed when I realized that last time I went.)

I just love the light going through those jelly shoes! (Insert Beyonce: I don't think you're ready for this jelly. I don't think you're ready for this je-lly.)

So the house thing. We are waiting to hear back about a house we really love. So if all goes well, we'll be in a house soon-ish. Hopefully my next post will say "We bought a house!" :)


You can see Sophie is real excited about the door mat I made.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

2011-09-25T22:04:00.001-07:00

Cool Cat

2011-09-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Check out this fashionable celebrity--

complete with her accessory dog!


Yes. Those are Big Girl Pannies she's wearing.

Can you see my legs?

Now for a story....

The other day I was doing something in the kitchen when I hear Sophie complaining to her brother Orion in the other room. Sophie came stomping into the kitchen a bit upset saying something about "the kitty get the glasses." So I follow her to my room where our awesome cat, Orion, is sitting casually with my sunglasses around his neck. I have no idea what was going on between the two before I arrived, but when Soph tried to take the glasses from Orion, he wouldn't have it!

Please feel free to ignore the piles of laundry behind Orion. Our washer went out lastweek but lucky for me, I have a handsome handy husband!

Another story...

Duck-Duck-Goose. We play it every Monday night for Family Home Evening. We have a prayer, a really short lesson, and then finally it's time for Duck-Duck-Goose. It has gotten to the point that now whenever we play Duck-Duck-Goose on an impulse, Sophie makes sure we have a prayer first. I think she believes we need the extra protection. :)

♥

And this pic just makes me happy. :)

My First Crafting Project (in a long time)

2011-09-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

Check out these baby dividers I made!

Not all the dividers are shown. I made a total of 6.

These are baby clothes dividers that I made for my SIL baby shower. I got the idea at the Life with the Ellwoods blog.

I was pretty darn proud of myself since I don't consider myself a crafy person. Hooray!

And just for fun.... I have to say this is a beautiful song! Enjoy!

Commentary: Adele reminds me of Barbra Streisand (at least in this song) in that she makes you believe every word she's singing. We all know Barbra is the most amazing singer ever. Period. It's good to see some more goodness.

Let's give it up to Barbra and Adele for being awesome. Word.

Summer Daze

2011-08-11T13:21:00.007-07:00

What do you do when it's 115°F without a trace of a cloud in sight?

Why, you strip down to your birthday suit, splash in some hose water, and blow bubbles of course!.... Which is exactly what we did (and by we I actually mean Sophie)!

I don't know what it is, but when you get a garden hose out and start spraying people instead of things, I get very reminiscent of my happy childhood.
Ah, let us all reflect now on running through the sprinklers, and jumping on the trampoline with the sprinklers underneath, and covering every visable inch of skin with mud.... Time to make new summer memories with my girl!

You can see the nicely deaded grass we killed.

Epitome of Summer Above. Drinking from the hose.

Yes, I know. She's beautiful.

And here is the sequence in which Sophie pops bubbles:

PS- About the whole naked thing...
Sophie had an accident so therefore we are justified in stripping her down.

Tonight at Dinner....

2011-08-06T18:58:00.004-07:00

Lindsey: Sophie, what should we get Daddy for Christmas?
Sophie: DI!
(Our favorite Thrift Store. We go there a lot, and it's Sophie's favorite store.)
Lindsey: What does Sophie want for Christmas?
Sophie: DI!
Lindsey: What should you get Mommy for Christmas?
Sophie: Poo! Poop!

There's..... A......

2011-07-20T17:28:00.003-07:00

Story on this song...

Once upon a time in High School at the Lunch Table someone (probably Brityn) begins singing a song starting with "There's a..." Lecia thought she was singing "There's a land that I heard of..." (from "Somewhere Over The Rainbow") and I thought she was singing "There's a place for us" (from the song "Somewhere"), but she was in fact singing Josh Groban's "Let Me Fall!" They all have a "There's a" part with the exact same interval! Hence, this Trio was born. And we've been singing it ever since.

Dave's post

2011-06-17T20:17:00.001-07:00

So, every-so-often I actually do make a post to our blog. This time, it's simply because I haven't in a while, and we have some unchronicled Sophie fun:

This last Monday we were having a Family night, and we were trying to teach Sophie about patience. So Lindsey and I were role-playing to show her how to be patient, such as when Sophie wants milk. When Lindsey asked me for some milk, and I told her she would have to wait until we actually got some, Sophie jumped up and ran to get the milk for Mommy.

Several days earlier, Sophie's grandparents were visiting from Tucson, and we wanted to show them how Sophie can count to 10 (sort of - usually involves skipping several numbers, like 1, and going in the wrong order), so we started counting, and she runs to hide so we can play hide-and-seek.

Hopefully Lindsey will edit the stories and make them sound as entertaining as they actually were!

I would catch a grenade for you*. Ya-ya-ya!

2011-06-01T11:31:00.007-07:00

Okay, the above song is super annoying and (guess what!) very catchy!!! Dave and I like to make fun of it a lot. Por ejemplo...

Me (very romantically): "I would catch a grenade for you."
Dave: "Would you give me a back rub?"
Me: "Heck No!"

*If you don't know the song you're very lucky! Click here right now. You will regret it.

So peeps keep asking us

Q: How do you like it here, compared to Tucson?

Here is my answer.

A: I like it here a lot. I like our house, I like the people, I like our neighborhood, I like being close to stuff, I like that I'm still in Arizona... I'm happy here.
HOWEVER, there are two things that really bother me.

1. CLOUDS. There are no clouds here. Dave warned me but I didn't believe it till now. It's true. There are no clouds... I mean cumulus clouds. The only things that show up here are the whispy thin stuff. Now, granted, today is actually a pretty cloudy day. Very overcast. (Yay!) But I hardly ever see those big fluffy ones that are always floating over Tucson. You wanna know why Tucson has such awesome sunsets? It's because there's dust AND clouds. We have the dust here, but no clouds to catch the light. :'(
This is hands-down the number one thing that disappoints me here. I'm secretly hoping that we will move someday somewhere that has some nice cloudage.

2. LEFT-TURN ARROWS. I have nothing against Left-Turn Arrows (which I will now refer to as LTA), but I have a problem when they are used to excess! Particularly in our area of town LTA are used EVERYWHERE! Even the minor intersections with hardly any traffic make you wait for a green arrow until you can turn. Arg! It's annoying. But I can deal with it. I CANNOT deal with whispy clouds.

I will now share with you my series of work called "Sophie Brushes her Teeth:"

Easter

2011-04-29T13:38:00.006-07:00

Easter was fun (as usual) this year! We spent sometime on Saturday with my side of the family and Sunday with Dave's side.

In Sophie's Easter basket, we gave the Sophers this awesome book:

The kids played "baseball" (without balls and bats).
Here's my little runner...

I just loved this picture of our little cousin.
It sums up our Easter experience pretty well.

And this one is just fun.
Sophie really looks up to her big girl cousins.

Here's Sophie in her Easter dress getting tickled by Daddy and his tickler.

Happy Easter to all! And to all Good Day!

How We Do Conference

2011-04-12T07:55:00.002-07:00

This is how we listened to General Conference last weekend...

Sorry that this picture is blurry. And I'm also embarrassed of the binky (we're having binky issues in our home), but I thought this was real cute.

If you're wondering about the box, here's an explanation: We're in a babysitting co-op (LOVE IT!) and one of the babysitters had all the kids watch a movie in a "Drive-In" with card board boxes. Sophie loved it so much that she keeps insisting in hanging out in this cardboard box.

Oh, Goodness!

2011-03-14T15:42:00.006-07:00

Here are some pictures taken awhile ago (back around Christmas), but I love them so much I had to share a few.

Remember the Over-Reacting Yeast? Well, here's where it ended up. In Cinnamon Rolls!

So here it is... Sophie helping my mom in the kitchen....

2011-02-24T22:06:00.004-07:00

BIG NEWS!!!

(This is Sophie sitting on the steps of the bridge that goes over the lake by our house.
Yes, we are in walking distance from a lake. A man-made lake-- but it's water!)

Sophie went down a slide ALL BY HERSELF! I know this may not sound big or important to you, but it is. Sophie is the most cautious creature I've ever met. While other kids at the playground are doing dare-devil stunts, Sophie just enjoys watching. She never liked to go down the slide unless I went down with her (and even then I had to persuade her to do it). So imagine my surprise and delight when without a word from me Sophie sits down at the top of the slide and tells me to catch her.

Here's Sophie being happy in our backyard.

Okay, so now about The Move. For those of you who don't know, we moved away from Tucson (tear). We now live in The Great Valleeey (I found it! (I hope someone just caught my allusion right there. It's from Land Before Time if you don't know)). I don't like to say exactly where since we are on the Internets but you get the idea.

Here's a pic showing that I am starting to make our house more homey.
Actually I just liked that you could see my reflection/shadow in the picture.

More pictures of our home to come...

Now for news about AMAZON-AMAZINGNESS!!!!

Me with Mr Darcy, Elizabeth Bennett and Emma. I LOVE BBC. Also with two great books Deep Blue and Devil's Cub.

Dave with his geek-gear.

I traded in 3 or 4 text books with Amazon and look at all the stuff we got from them!! I still have more amazon credit to spare and more books to trade in for amazon credit.

The Man.

My Valentine

2011-02-12T22:56:00.019-07:00

This is my husband...

I know what you're thinking.

It's okay to be jealous.

This is a Halloween picture from before we were dating in 2006.
You can see how lovingly I am grasping his arm.
Dave made a very handsome James Bond.
That was the year I won best costume as a nerd.
By the way, this picture is cutting out a cute girl that was on Dave's other arm.

A very special date. Some Winter Formal that we went to.

The day after we got engaged.

Some official engagement pics:

Our Wedding
August 11, 2007

It's no secret that I love Dave. He really makes me happy.
Here's why:

He gives me back rubs! (I am always promising to give him back rubs...but I never actually do...)
He is almost ALWAYS the first to say "Sorry" even if it's not his fault.
He loves his family. That includes me, Sophie, his family, my family. Everyone! He's a GREAT dad, by the way.
He helps with the chores.
He still loves me even though I'm stinky. I will say no more on the matter.
He encourages me in my interests. He's very supportive of everything I do.
He likes to go to the mall with me.
He is completely faithful and dedicated to me and to God.
I could go on but I think Dave is going to catch me writing this any second! You get the idea...

♥♥♥ I know. Now you're REALLY jealous. :) ♥♥♥

This is Yeast in Action

2011-02-07T17:25:00.003-07:00

My Mom was bakin' and Dave took these pics of some very active yeast:

And Now..... Some EXCITING News!!!!

2010-12-16T20:05:00.009-07:00

After months and months and months and months of searching.... We have a job!!!! Dave's new job title is "Virtual Construction Engineer" (so he is now an architect turned engineer :). So we're moving North. Yay! We're very excited to begin some new adventures.

Here are some recent family photos. I just love how they turned out.

I Wish I Had Some Exciting News....

2010-12-16T14:27:00.006-07:00

...but I don't. Yet.

This week we turned my parents' living room into a recital hall and had a little piano recital! I had my 9 wonderful piano students play their Christmas tunes for their families. It was great. I have LOVED teaching piano but alas, I have let them all go. We are anticipating a job offer and acceptance by the end of the year (that's why I'm no longer teaching). We've actually have had a couple job offers, but we're waiting to hear back from one more place.

It's weird not having my students, so Sophie and I have been playing a lot outside with the camera.

A Cold, Autumn Day
A Summery, December Day

A Happy Day

...Oh, by the way. Guess who gets to talk in church the day after Christmas? Yep, that's me.

A few uplifting thoughs on marriage

2010-11-21T21:34:00.008-07:00

Marriage has been getting a bad rap in the media and stuff. I don't think people generally don't believe in happy marriages anymore. On TV Dr. Phil is constantly counseling estranged couples and then you hear that your favorite Hollywood couple just broke up, etc... Marriage is scary!

However, I believe and have hope in this quote from President Spencer W. Kimball:

"Marriage can be more an exultant ecstacy than the human mind can conceive. This is within the reach of every couple, every person."

And this one from President Gordon B. Hinckley:

"It is not going to matter very much how much money you made, what kind of house you lived in, what kind of car you drove, the size of your bank account--any of those things. What is going to matter is that dear woman who has walked with you side by side as your companion thorugh all the years of life and those children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their looking to you...with respect and love and deference and kindness.... The only things you will take with you, when all is said and done, are your family relationships."

I don't mean to downplay the difficulties that come with marriage--because they'll surely come! But I hope that people will begin to believe in marriage again.

To end, I'd like to show how much Dave must love me through this madlib. I created it, Dave filled in the blanks (the red words).

Once upon a time, Dave met the most bouncy squid in his life. Her name was Lindsey. One day, Dave squished off a cow. It just so happened that Lindsey was dancing by. Dave yelled, "Ow-ow!" Lindsey asked, "Do you need help over there?" Because Dave was only holding on to the cow with one frenellum, he said yes. So Lindsey reached out her orange hand and helped him up. It was then taht Dave cooked into her impressive eyes. He suddenly wanted to run her luke-warm lips. And so he did. The End.

Picture Post

2010-11-19T13:05:00.005-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen my beautiful baby girl in a while, here's what she looks like today...
Sophie enjoyed being a choo-choo train for Halloween. Her costume was amazing. We even took her to Pennys to get some "professional" photos, but I wasn't very happy with the outcome.
Sophie is a silly girl that likes to do what her Mommy does.
She loves her Daddy. Daddy time is play time!

I don't have any news to update you on other than Sophie is learning lots every day. Oh- and we had a Binky Weaning Day. It failed. However, Sophie really likes to say "No more binky!" while wagging her finger. We've talked about it a lot, but it's easier to say than do!

Knock, Knock...

2010-10-11T08:31:00.003-07:00

Last night Dave and I drove home from Tempe. Most of the time we're driving at night we play silly car games to keep us awake and talking. Last night we were making up our own Knock, Knock jokes. (Note: Kids love Knock, Knock jokes. They are always telling me the most un-funny Knock, Knock jokes. It is because these are the easiest jokes to make up. You just simply fill in the blanks. Who cares if they don't make sense!) Anyway, I came up with a Knock, Knock joke that (I think) is actually funny! Here it is:

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Pat.
Pat who?
Pat the Bunny!

I don't know if it was the content of the joke or if it was just really late at night, but we kept repeating that joke over and over and cracking up because it.
I hope you enjoy my own original Knock, Knock joke. If nothing else, maybe your kids/cousins/nieces/nephews will like it.

Inception

2010-09-21T19:08:00.003-07:00

Have you seen this movie?

Whoa. We scored free movie tickets and were able to watch this movie. It was an awesome experience.

"I was nervous the entire time," says Lindsey. "I give it 5 stars!" If you know Lindsey, she's not easily impressed when it comes to movies. "This was the best movie I saw in the theatres since The Lion King." (Okay maybe that's a slight exaggeration--but not by much.)

"Whoa" --Dave. "It gives a whole new meaning to interpreting dreams."

"Mommy!" says Sophie. Okay, she didn't see it, but that's what she says all the time.

What did you think about it?

Les Poissons, Les Poissons! Hee Hee Hee Hua Hua Hua

2010-09-13T08:42:00.012-07:00

Utah Trip

Here is Dave with his new friend, Paul. We met him at this side-of-the-road hamburger/hotdog and fishing stand.
Note: Sophie did NOT like Paul.

Dave, Lindsey, and Brigham Young.

We had the amazing opportunity to go to education week at BYU with some family. Let me just say this: It's a wonderful feeling taking whatever classes you want and not worry about assignments and homework.

The Melvilles. She's having a baby though you can't tell from the picture (or in person for that matter.) I hope I'm allowed to say.

Sophie & Kennedy. Yes, Sophie is eating her shirt.

We spent A LOT of time with some of our cousins this past summer. One cousin in particular has taught Sophie the word "Mine!" Soph uses it often. :)

Other things Sophie has been saying a lot (just a few):

"I Don't Know"
Prayers
(muttering and saying Mommy and Daddy while folding arms)
"Go!"/" Go?"
"Mommy!"
(Apparently 'mommy' just means 'Someone pay attention to me now!")
"One, Two, Threeeeeee!"
"Please", "Cheese" (they sound almost identical)
"W" (I could have sworn I heard her sing along with the ABCs song and say 'w')
"Doing?"
(What are you doing?)
"Apple"

Things she sings:

"Ee-I-Ee-I-O!"
"Clean Up! Clean Up!"
(But it sounds more like "Pick up! Pick Up!"

"Home" in Arizona

Dave, Sophie, and I are glad that the temperatures have been dropping. We've been taking advantage of this with lots of nice walks. We love the desert and all it's surprises --Including cactus flowers and fruit.

Raise your hand if you love the desert!

Life with Sophie

2010-08-10T15:50:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite videos taken of Sophie. Enjoy!

Joslin Update

2010-08-08T15:13:00.006-07:00

Brityn and Madeline came to visit us last weekend. Per Jael's request, here are some photos...

Notice how humongous Sophie is compared to Madeline (who is actually 5 weeks older).

Sophie had a blast on the swing....until she fell off.

Auntie Nicole with her babies.

And Sophie's first time on a trampoline. Notice how excited she is.

Best of all was the Wii Dance thinger. Here's me and Dave doin' a dance-off.

Don't forget to check out my Joke Blog. I just updated it here.

Family Pics

2010-06-27T17:10:00.005-07:00

A friend of the family took some family/grad pictures. Here are just a few of our favorites...

Love These Ladies!

2010-06-16T14:06:00.003-07:00

I had an amazing weekend with my all my best friends (excluding Dave) in Cedar City. (Dave and Sophie had quality Daddy-Daughter time while I was away). I've been so lucky to be blessed with such amazing friends and I am so glad that we've kept up our friendships! It's also really fun to get together and pretend we're 12 again.

Watch this video....

Now tell me if you see any Sand People in this picture...

I always knew deep down Jael was a die-hard Star Wars fan. :)

10 Things I Hate About U(ofA)...or college in general

2010-04-30T15:04:00.007-07:00

We have had a wonderful time attending the UofA. Education is a very good thing, and something we are very grateful that we have been blessed to pursue. With parting always comes sorrow.

However, here are a few things we will definitely NOT be missing...

1. Smoking

If this is an institution of higher education, then why are there so many smokers!? And why can't they read the sign "No Smoking within 20 feet of entrance?"
2. PowerPoint Presentations
More and more professors are using PowerPoint in their lectures. 75% of them do not know how to use it correctly.
3. Spandexed-Rear-Tushies
If you're not a dance major, you're just trying to show off your bum. And we know it. And you know that we know it.
4. The Spanish Department
Don't get me started on it.
5. Professors
The ones who use those PowerPoint slide-shows incorrectly.
And the ones who don't really know what they're talking about.
And the ones who don't know but insist you treat them like they do know.
And the ones who put their political slant on everything.
And the ones who make you do busy work just because they can.
And the Ego. Enough said.
5a. The not-really professors, or TAs (or GAs if you prefer)
So, why are so many classes taught by foreign grad students anyway? I can understand Doctoral students doing this, because they have had some good time to learn the subject. But people only a few years farther along who you can't understand anyway? This is not to bash all TAs, there are good ones out there (many better than the actual professor), but you know the ones I'm talking about.
6. Pedestrians
They're everywhere, like gnats. Off the sidewalk, in the street, in the bike lane, ignoring traffic signals, oblivious to traffic (you've seen the guy, he's halfway across the intersection, texting, before he realizes he's stepped in front of cross traffic). Hope you don't hit one!
7. Unvocabulated Students
Isn't it amazing how some students can use the same word to describe every emotion they feel? (ie: "I #*@$&% hate this!" "I #*@$&% love you!" "That is #*@$&% awesome!" "You are #*@$&% lame!")
8. Lack of Clothing
...and very nice sunburns/tan lines because of it.
9. Homework
Especially busy work.
10. __________________
(We left this one open for your suggestions - add a comment)

Wow, this has been a very negative post. We will now say something amazing about our college experience: We're graduating!!!!!

Falling in L-O-V-E

2010-04-04T21:38:00.003-07:00

I am so in love with Marana right now. Look at this picture...

There's a river in Tucson!! Marana is actually working with the natural environment and added this beautiful river walk along the Santa Cruz. I believe that the water here is actually reclaimed water right now but the Santa Cruz gets very full during Monsoon months. Here is the relatively new library by the river...

This rear window of the library looks out toward the river. ♥ it.

I love that Marana is actually showing off the beauty of the desert. This doesn't happen much in Tucson. Instead, Tucson peeps just cement-up a perfectly decent wash and hope nobody tags it. Marana is really impressing me with all the natural beauty that they're trying to enhance -- not hide. You should see all the flowers they've planted along the roads. It's gorgeous.

Happy, Happy Birthday Sophie Dear!!!

2010-03-07T20:56:00.007-07:00

Happy Birthday, Sophie-Girl!

It's Sophia's big 1st birthday! We celebrated by stopping by "Grandma" Mary Anne's for some yummy cake. Soph loved the frosting and sprinkles!

Due to the move, we didn't plan a real birthday party, but the Hancock family decided to get together for an impromptu party!

Everyone sang Happy Birthday....

then we ate cake....

ppened presents....

and got a nice card from Great-Grandma.

It was a lot of fun. Thanks everyone for celebrating whether you were here with us or not!

In other news: Under distressing and overwhelming circumstances, we sadly said goodbye to our old home--the cute little duplex (pictured below).

We're lucky enough to have Mom and Dad Hancock who are letting us stay with them for a while. We feel very displaced right now, but we're grateful for Mom and Dad's generosity and a safe, happy environment. We're looking into buying our first real home (with no shared walls with the neighbors!), so if you know of any gonga-deals, let us know!

Mommy's Favorite Sophie Pics

2010-01-29T16:50:00.005-07:00

Here are some pictures from last November.

Rolling...
Still Rolling...
& Rolling s'more.
Just love that angelic face! Rolling in blankets is so fun!

Tummy time.

Here's some from January...

Mom and Baby are Babes!

Stuff About Us

2010-01-12T20:18:00.001-07:00

Lindsey's favorite....

thing to do in her free time: read or go on walks if it's nice outside.
book: hard question. Baby book: The Babywhisperer. Novel: Deep Blue, Goose Girl, Les Miz,...
moment in the last 6 months: that one day when we cleaned the house all together. If felt good.
place to be: home. Where else?
movie: I can watch Sabrina ('95 version) every month. I love Star Wars (Original) just as much if not more than Sabrina, but I can't watch those every month.
movie kiss: The Lake House. (1^st kiss)
pet peeve : misuse of cell phones!!!
TV game show: Jeopardy
college course: Photography 101
date: Dinner theatre. I've attended two dinner theatres. One with my spouse and one not.
celebrity: Barbra Streisand. No competition. She is amazing. Amen.
current event: balloon-saucer boy and his insane parents. Believe me, I would NOT watch a reality show about them!
stupid thing she ever did: You don't want to know.
phrase/saying: Inconceivable!
stupid thing she saw someone do: “I got a job at McDonald's. It is so hard! People actually get mad if you get their order wrong!”
food: nuts, beans. Mmm.
website: facebook (I know, what a loser I am.)
language he wished he knew: French
most beautiful language: English or Irish accent
talent she wished she was born with: Brityn's voice.
word she can never spell: defenitly (definitely)

Dave's favorite....

thing to do in his free time: read, draw, spend time with my family (especially Lindsey)
book: “so many books, so little time...”
moment in the last 6 months: when last semester ended, among others
place to be: with Lindsey
movie: Batman Begins (and any Star Trek movie, except #5 and Generations)
movie ~~kiss~~ explosion: that's more like it... Mask of Zorro mine explosion was good. The kiss is pretty good, too.
pet peeve: #7: incorrect use of apostrophes
TV game show: Jeopardy
college course: Design-Build Studio (“World War I and its Effect on Art and Architecture” was really cool, too)
date: 12/25
celebrity: Yoda
current event: the final blow to the Nobel Peace Prize's legitimacy
stupid thing he ever did: salsa anyone?
phrase/saying: Today's: “David Donald Doo dreamed a dozen doughnuts and a duck-dog, too” (Dr. Seuss)
stupid thing he saw someone do: some guy blatantly ran a red light, and then gave me a look like I was the one that did it, since I was staring at him like he was an idiot (I was on the other side of the intersection, waiting for it to change)
food: Italian and Mexican
website: Google – it can take you anywhere else (and the one I made is pretty cool, being the impartial informant I am – www.shambach.com)
language he wished he knew: French and Spanish
most beautiful language: Russian (because I speak it – French is nice, too)
talent he wished he was born with: Lindsey's music composing skills
word he can never spell: committment (commitment)

Happy New Years!!

2010-01-02T11:12:00.008-07:00

A great way to start our New Year... Hiking in Sanctuary Cove!

A friend lent me her baby backpack. I am totally sold on it. I gotta get one of my own!
Dave being Dave. Sophie being Sophie.

Hiking can be so exhausting!

Our Family New Year's Resolution: Go on more hikes once monthly.

Lindsey's NYR: Read the lessons for RS before I get to church.

Dave's NYR: Find his old Star Trek Books (which translates as cleaning).

FYI...

2009-12-16T20:06:00.002-07:00

I made a new "Joke Blog" a couple of days ago. I wanted a joke blog so that I could (1) remember the good jokes I hear, and (2) share them with everyone else.

I find that people just don't tell good jokes anymore--And I know why. I'll be with my friends at school or at work and say "Hey here's a good joke I heard..." and after I'm done telling it, the listener will have to tell me his or her "great joke" which ends up being dirty and trashy. So I just don't tell jokes anymore, because I don't want to hear "their" jokes. Hence, my blog was born.

Please visit it and send in your jokes--that is, if you're willing to share.
http://lindseysjokeblog.blogspot.com/

Catching up....

2009-12-15T10:12:00.009-07:00

School must be out because I'm actually posting something to our blog!! Below are obviously Halloween pictures. We had a blast going trick-or-treating with some of the Hancock gang out in Vail. Sophie got LOTS of candy for us :) You're probably thinking what horrible parents we are--using our 6 month old to get candy! And yes, I did feel like I was "stealing candy from a baby" and I'm sure there were lots of parents handing out candy that knew exactly what we were up to, but how else were we supposed to get any candy!?

Check out this Hot Wolfman.....

His hair looks amazing thanks to his talented wife and lots of hair spray and blow-drying. Dave makes a great Wolverine!

And Now, Thanksgiving.....

We went on a family walk after stuffing our faces with turkey and stuffing. Dinner was really yummy. Just thinking about it right now makes me want to eat s'more!!!!! (Drooling)
Sophie with her cousins Hailey and Kate.

So it's been a while.....

2009-09-27T20:28:00.009-07:00

Here's Sophie when she was "too skinny" (according to those know-it-all MDs)

Here you can see her beautiful long hair before we chopped it and before it began turning blonde

Sophie is now 6 1/2 months old. At her last doctor's appointment she was 15.2 pounds and 26+ inches. She's also rolling all over the place, and trying to learn how to scoot. Occasionally she succeeds, but mostly she gets her rear end up in the air and just bounces. It's really cute -- as if her rear end knows what to do, but she keeps getting distracted on the front end by sucking on her fingers. She is practically sitting all by herself now too.

Here is a video of her laughing at Daddy's silly Spanish. (Obviously, she is more distracted by the video camera).

Life's been good to us, but very busy with school, Dave's work, church, and of course Sophie. The next two weekends we'll be even busier as we will be in Tempe one weekend and Las Vegas the next. Hopefully we'll post you up on that.

Sugar and Spice...

2009-04-03T22:38:00.007-07:00

Hooray! Sophia Joslin was born on March 7, 2009 at 8:13 pm. She weighed 7lb 8oz, and was 21 inches long! Everyone is doing well, we're getting some sleep, and she is way cute.

PS- Orion is a boy.

The end.

She's Here!

2008-10-24T14:45:00.004-07:00

We have a kitty!!!
(Don't worry we're being careful with pregnant Lindsey.)

Name: Orion

Age: 4 weeks??

Gender: To be determined

So Dave and I went to a birthday party for a friend and as a party favor we came home with this precious little bundle of joy! She was a homeless little kitten with no mommy so we've adopted her. We love her lots and she keeps us very busy! Hand feeding her can be very demanding (especially in the middle of the night) as is cleaning up after her little "spills." But she is very good at doing her business in the kitty box most of the time. Please feel free to stop by and play with our new little girl.... or boy.

2008-07-26T18:48:00.003-07:00

Coming Soon to a Hospital near you!