Santa and other seasonal memories

Visiting Santa

Soooooo Cute!

Playing with the nativity

Big smiles in our Christmas jammies.

Who's Your Hero?

Who's Your Hero?
Try it without looking at the answers...... Don't cheat!
1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9
2) Multiply by 3 then
3) Add 3, then
4) Multiply by 3 again (I'll wait while you get the calculator....)
5) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number....
6) Add the digits together





Now Scroll down ........
































Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:
1. Albert Einstein
2. Nelson Mandela
3. Abraham Lincoln
4. Helen Keller
5. Bill Gates
6. Mahatma Gandhi
7. George Clooney
8. Thomas Edison
9. Quinn Lavender
10. Batman

I know....I just have that effect on people....one day you too can be like me....

P.S.: Stop picking different numbers. I am your hero, just deal with it!!!!

Merry Christmas to All

You may need to click on these to see them better.

Merry Christmas to our friends and relatives!
Quinn, Laura, Emma

A winter song by Quinn

Words by Quinn Lavender

Music by Jule Styne

O the weather outside is snowing
And I can’t see where I am going
And even though traffic’s slowed
He’s off the road! She’s off the road! I’m off the road!

I was cautious when the sports car tried to pass --
So how’d I get high-centered on an overpass?
To the sports-car-driving clown:
“Slow it down! Slow it down! Slow it down!”

When I finally get dug out
And my car gets pointed the right way
Before I get back en route:
A plow covers my car with its spray…

So the next time the snow starts falling
And work or church or family is calling
I’ll avoid those roads so slick…
And call in sick! Call in sick! Call in sick!

Results of the fast food Showdown Royale...with cheese

Thanks to all to participated in this random match-up. The response was so great that I actually had to tally the votes on paper.

I wanted to give my two cents on the matter, which are: The Burger King costumed mascot guy is actually quite creepy, and I'm really surprised that nobody mentioned this. There was also no discussion about how a Queen trumps a King in chess, as well as in household matters, unless the king is Henry VIII. But this isn't Henry VIII, this is the Burger King. Come to think of it, I'm not exactly sure exactly what line of authority these two oligarchs claim. Wouldn't it be interesting if the Burger King and the Dairy Queen married and had a child? That would be one powerful prince or princess. Now, where was I? Oh, yes: the deciding factor for me is the fact that Dairy Queen sells Picadilly Chips, and you just can't find those anywhere else -- even in restaurants that sell "Fish and Chips" and then mock you by bringing out Fish and French Fries. So thanks, Dairy Queen, for keeping it real.

Taking my vote into account, though, the tally is as follows:

Undecided: 2

Dairy Queen: 3

Burger King: 5

There was also one misguided individual who voted for Arby's despite the fact that this was a fast food royalty showdown, and last I checked, an "Arby" was not a position of regality or nobility.

Burger King: You ARE the winner.

Creepy.

Better Fast Food Royalty?

The Burger King? Or the Dairy Queen? Leave your vote in the comments section.

Official Birthday Pictures!

Here are the official first year birthday pirtures. I was able to pick them up today and I think they turned out soooooo cute!. Enjoy!

The First of the Christmas Parties!

On Saturday we got together with my Mom's side of the family for the Zundel Christmas Party. We spent the afternoon bowling at Weber State. Emma was not too sure of this. All the loud booms from the balls made her very nervous and she whined for the first hour until she got a little used to it. I have never seen her do this. Sorry but I can't remember who got the overall high score of the night. Quinn will have to jump in here with a comment.

Still a nervous Emma.

Finally a smile out of her with her Grandpa.

This is our cousin Eric. He started doing pushups between bowls to make his arms stronger and one time it made him get a strike!

Afterwards we went back to Mom's and stuffed our selves full of yummy food. After a rousing game of Nert's where I think Taylor won (Carly, he may be better than you now) we all gathered around for a true White Elephant gift exchange. We are happy to report that one of our gifts was the most popular and I was surprised when Quinn said we could take it in the first place. It was a Monkey carved out of a coconut. This was the coveted gift and was passed around so many times that I have no idea who ended up with it.

In the end we all had a great time even Taylor though he was stuck with an old copy of Anne of Green Gables. Sorry but its White Elephant and you never know what you'll get. Emma had so much fun that she is still recovering from the very late night she had because of course there was no way she would go to bed while a party was going on. Oh well, tis the season of tired, whiny kids, all on sugar highs.

I believe that is a ceramic green turtle. YES!!

Oh, Ben what a nice toaster!

And then last night was our neighborhoods annual Christmas Party. It is held in the drive way of our neighbor. We all bundle up, turn on our Christmas lights and head out in the cold with a treat to share and some hot chocolate. It doesn't last long but it is fun to get our and see all the lights on the street and to visit for a few minutes. Emma and I did not go last year because she was only a week old. So we bundled her up (yes with her screaming in protest, we finally dumped to boots for shoes) and headed out. Once we were out she was happy. She loves to be outside. The treats were good the hot chocolate was good and the snow was so pretty. And yes we made it home with both shoes, of course not on her feet though, but with only one sock. Quinn had to go back for the other one. That girl - won't even wear shoes and socks when it is 30 degrees outside!

Merry Christmas!

More parties to come!!

I can't even think of a clever title for this...

Yes, but what kind of burrito???

Toilet Adventures II: It All Comes Out in the End

There has been at least a small degree of interest regarding the results of my toilet shopping last week. I am happy to say that we found a great toilet that we liked enough to offset the embarrassing image of me riding in my dad's Camry with a toilet sticking halfway out the open trunk.

If you read my last post, you may be surprised to know that we did not opt for the Niagara toilet, despite its majestic description. The fact is, that nearly every toilet had an equally amusing brand or model name, each designed (I can only presume) to ellicit strong emotions which would somehow prompt you to...well...buy a toilet. I can picture the marketing folks at the corporate headquarters pitching their name ideas...

Take, for example: the Kohler "Devonshire" toilet. 'Allo, guvnah! When you've got to go to the loo, why not 'ave a sit-down on this quaint little porcelian stool!

The Kohler "Memoirs" toilet. An antique picture frame. Playing ball with Grandpa. Summers on the farm. Fresh cookies out of the oven. And pooping. Memoirs.

The Kohler "Kathryn" toilet. I really can't think of a good one for this toilet. Unless you happen to have an ex-wife named Kathryn...

The American Standard "Cadet" toilet. Hep, two, three, four, LIFT, two, three, four, ZIP, two, three, four, AAAHHHH, two, three, four. Enjoy the efficiency of a military bathroom experience, without all the other soldiers looking at you.

The Kohler "Pinoir" toilet. Enjoy the finer things in life. Sip some wine. Enjoy some art. Have a seat. Let nature take care of the rest.

The American Standard "Town Square" toilet. Remember in the old days when there was only one flush toilet per town and it was located in the middle of the town square? You don't? Hmmm, maybe we should have thought of a better name for this one...

The American Standard "Baby Devoro" toilet. Don't let the name scare you. It doesn't devour babies.

The American Standard "Antiquity" toilet. This is really just two foot-shaped appliques that you put next to the hole in your floor.

The Pegasus "Washington" toilet. The biggest, most powerful toilet on the market. Big enough to handle all the crap in Washington.

The St. Thomas "Marathon" toilet. Strap in, buddy. You're going to be here awhile.

The St. Thomas "Marathon II" toilet. You're a slow learner, aren't you?

But, for those of you curious enough to have read this far, the Lavenders selected the Kohler "Cimarron" toilet. Giddy up, parder! Drop your chaps here, saddle up and mind your behind, there may slivers!

The Cimarron is designed to allow you to use either the standard 1.6 liters per flush, or the water-saving 1.28 liters per flush. I inaugurated the toilet on Saturday night. I think we'll leave it on 1.6 lpf for now...

I could have written for hours. Here are some of the other funny toilet names:

Victoria
Constitution
Vicki
Cottage Collection
Mariner
Colony

Come to think of it, I can't think of a toilet name that wouldn't be funny. Can you?

Quinn

Shopping for toilets -- a crappy way to spend the evening

As you may be aware from previous posts, we have been remodeling our upstairs bathroom over the past couple of months. The general overhaul was spawned by the need for a new toilet, but it soon burgeoned into new paint on the walls, new tile on the floor, and soon, I'm sure, a new bathmat/shower curtain/toothbrush holder ensemble. We have enough Star Wars Slurpee cups that we could spare one as a toothbrush/toothpaste holder, but apparently Star Wars bathmats and shower curtains are out of the question.

Anywho, after several hundred dollars and dozens of man hours to fix everything else, it was actually time to start toilet shopping. Toilet shopping left me amazed and perplexed. Let's just say that as a society, we've come a long way from taking poops in a ditch.

Toilets have lots of features these days. You can buy taller toilets so you don't have to sit so low (free business tip to whomever wants it: create a line of customized 'low rider' toilets for those that don't want to sit so high). You've seen round toilets; you've seen elongated toilets; but now you don't have to be limited to one or the other....that's right: you, too, can enjoy the spaciousness of an elongated toilet in the same amount of space as a round toilet! Introducing the 'compact elongated' toilet! Why should you have to decide between elongated and round? You deserve the best of both worlds. Throw in a cup holder and I'm sold.


I also enjoyed a state-of-the-art flapperless toilet tank which featured (no lie!) the patented "Niagara" system. The "Niagara" system collects water at the top of the tank in a trough. When you pull the flush handle, the trough tips over and releases the water, like the rolling mists of Niagara itself, into the bottom of the tank and into the bowl. What an age we live in.

Another thing I noticed was that toilets have a 'flush rating.' This is based on a number of factors, including water amount, tank-to-bowl orifice size, the manner in which the water is dispersed around the bowl, and the drain size. The higher the flush rating, the less likely the toilet is to clog, or require second flushes. At Lowe's, flush ratings are on a scale of 0 to 5 stars. There was a disturbing number of toilets signs that said "Flush Rating Not Currently Available." Yeah right, like I'm going to by a toilet that doesn't have a flush rating yet. That has 'disaster' written all over it. At Home Depot, the flush rating is a scale from 1 to 10. I saw one with a 10 rating, and underneath it it said "Best." But I had to scratch my head when I saw a toilet with a 2.5 rating, which was subtitled "Good." Since when is 2.5 out of 10 good for anything, much less washing human waste away from your house? Talk about flush rating inflation...

The worst part, though, was the images that the toilet gurus and mucky-mucks put in your head to convince you that their toilet is the best. The first one I saw was: "Strong enough to flush a tennis ball." Ewww! What on earth would I need to flush a tennis ball for? I don't know what it was about that image...the sphereness, the bouyancy, or the sheer diameter of a tennis ball....but I just crossed my legs thinking about it.

Another toilet promised: "Can flush 150 feet of toilet paper without clogging." First of all: 150 feet of toilet paper is a LOT of bad Mexican food. But does ANY toilet need to be able to flush 150 feet at once? If someone uses 150 feet of toilet paper before they flush, then I've got news for them: they have bigger problems than what kind of toilet they have.

Another sign said: "Can flush a bucket of golf balls without clogging." That might be an attractive feature...if I was an elk. Or a rabbit. I'm still not comprehending how this promise is supposed to make me buy that particular toilet.

I'll tell you right now what they need to put on these signs:

"Can flush a GI Joe / Barbie doll / Tonka truck without clogging"
"Will not damage cell phones dropped inside" [shoutout to Hannah]
"Guaranteed to not stop working so you have to replace it, your bathroom flooring, your wall paint, and your shower curtain/bathmat/toothbrush holder ensemble"

Quinn

Happy Birthday EMMA!

Yesterday was Emma's 1st birthday. I can't believe it. This year has gone by so fast.

Emma is the joy of our life and we never want to go back to life without her. She definitely has her own personality already. She loves to go and go. She doesn't stop for cuddles and barely stops for food. Emma loves to play indoors and out. She loves her walks, reading books, singing, and she is even starting to dance to music. She loves push buttons and hug stuffed animals. She will take all five of hers out of her toy basket, give them a hug and throw them over her shoulder to move onto the next one. She loves to imitate noises and hand gestures and getting really good at the few she knows. She is still crawling for the most part but is very happy to walk along furniture and with help. She still has not said any coherent words but jabbers all day long. Emma still loves to smile and that smile is getting filled up with teeth (7 already). We love our Emma.

We celebrated her birthday with her Grandma and Grandpa Lavender and Van Bibber. Along with Great-Grandma Lavender and Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Zundel. Aunt Anne and Uncle Taylor were also there. We had everyone over Saturday night because that was the night everyone was available. I know some of you are thinking about the BIG game. But Quinn and everyone else made the sacrifice and taped the second half - GO UTES. Just put me down for the worst wife ever award for two years in a row now (Quinn missed the game last year because Emma decided to be born that weekend). Quinn has now been asked to write this and only this game on the calender every year so that we can avoid this conflict in the future.

Well, we still had a great night, despite Emma and myself being sick with colds. Emma did perk up for the party and soon figured out how to unwrap her presents. She received: books, blocks, big cars and little cars, and tons of clothes. We then had cake and ice cream. Emma got her own cake to dig into and boy did she dive right in and loved it!

Presents!

Playing with her blocks.

The Cakes!

We had been practicing blowing with Emma this past month but never with a live flame and so what did she do she tried to grab it and we all gasped and so she go shy and worried and so I had to blow the candle out for her.

Comment by Quinn: Lauralee is really understating the gravity of this moment. We almost let our baby light her face on fire. We had anticipated her trying to grab the candle (see above picture where her hands are being restrained); however, we had not anticipated her diving forward headfirst toward the candle, which is exactly what she did. I caught it all on videotape, and if there were a TV program called America's Worst Videos Where Parents Almost Lit Their Baby's Face on Fire, we would be a shoo-in for the $10,000. Shame, shame, shame on us. If I were a Boy Scout, my Firem'n Chit would be revoked immediately. Now back to Lauralee's regularly-scheduled blog post:

What a cute Birthday Girl!

I LOVE CAKE!

Happy 1st Birthday Emma! We love you!
Mom and Dad

Playing in the Leaves!

For anyone who has ever been to our house you know we have huge trees that line the back fence and give us privacy all summer. But come fall, all thoses beautiful trees shed their leaves and we end up having to rake them. This year my mom (Grandma Van Bibber) decided that she needed some exercise one day while Emma was taking a nap. She raked all of our leaves into piles for us and then came back another day with Taylor and the truck and help me load them up. Mom, thank you so much. You don't know how much we appreciate all your help!! Before loading the truck though we had to let Emma play a bit. What little kid doesn't like playing in the leaves?

Emma and Grandma Van Bibber

Yes, I did catch her!

See here she is later, playing with Taylor and Sophie!

I don't know if you remember in a previous post that I mentioned we were redoing our bathroom up stairs. Well we are still working on it. Dad has been here a few nights putting in the new tile with Quinn as his helper. WE REALLY APPRECIATE having a Dad who is so generous with his talents and time to come and help us do this. We wouldn't be able to do it with out you Dad so thanks. The tile looks great we can't wait to get the grout put in on Saturday so we can go shopping for a new toilet and finally get our bathroom back. It has been a long time (almost two months). I won't know what to do in the middle of the night, I won't have to walk all the way downstairs anymore. Well here are some pictures of the hardworking, professional tile layers. Keep up the good work, men!

Master Cutter!

Master Installer!

Quinn likens the scriptures

Last night Lauralee and I were reading in Mosiah chapter 11. Two things always stick out at me when I read this chapter:

1) What the heck is ziff?

2) King Noah's high priests have these special thrones with breastplates that they can rest their bodies on while they're speaking 'lying and vain words' to the people. I always thought it was funny that these guys were so incredibly lazy that they couldn't even hold their own bodies up.

This morning, at 3 AM, while I was trying to rock Emma back to sleep, I thought about that scripture again. I was exhausted and trying to get our baby girl to fall asleep again without falling asleep myself. I couldn't get comfortable in the rocking chair, and my head would start to bob as my body yearned for sleep. What I wouldn't have given for a breastplate, or perhaps a head rest or chin strap to hold my body up while I rocked our little girl to sleep. Today as I drag my tired butt around the office, I wish I had some sort of attachment to my office chair that would let me take a 30-minute power nap.

Noah's priests weren't lazy; they all had 1-year-olds who wouldn't sleep through the night.