From the mouth of babes...

So a friend of mine came up to me after church today to share a story with me about Luke. At first I was a little scared, knowing some of the doosies he's repeated, but as she told the story, all I could do was smile and nod.
She said he was sitting with his class in primary (sharing time, for those who know what that is) and was loudly having a conversation with really no one in particular. This is how it went:

Luke: So, my mom has a little baby in her tummy...want to know how I know?

(No real response from anyone, but he certainly had my friend's attention at this point)

Luke: Because there were two lines on the stick.



(I wonder what other things he's decided to share....)

P.S. Don't worry, this is not my "stick."

Go

(She's the darling one in the middle holding the ball)

here to vote for my sister for player of the month at her college. Not only is she a mom of two little ones, but she got a full-ride scholarship to play soccer for Northwest Christian College and brought their winless season last year when she didn't play up to multiple wins with her game winning goals. After you click on the link above, scroll down just a little and on the right you can vote for her--Heather Henderson!! I am so proud of her! Thanks for the vote!

So sad.

Got this news from a blog I stalk (she's lovely--check her out). Mother's Frosted Circus Cookies will be no longer....I have lost a piece of me.

sniff....sniff....

More Mamma Mia Pics....BEWARE!!

Here is a few more pictures of our Girls' Night--Such a blast for all of us--we dress-uppers were quite the entertainment for the "Nondress-uppers" -it's safe to say, I think.
ENJOY!








Not pretty, I realize....I sacrifice this for your entertainment.
You're welcome.

Good "clean" fun!!

Some ladies in my ward/neighborhood and I have started a city league soccer team and it has been so great getting to play and getting to know these great girls--most of whom I hardly knew before the season started. I'm not sure if I blocked my high school/church ball days out of my mind (it wasn't pretty), but being back in competition has rekindled the competitor/poor sport in me. I've realized that even more than in high school, I HATE LOSING!! While trying to teach my son, who gets devastated when he loses, how to be a good sport, I am very sensitive to how I am responding to my own losses. Remembering the frustration of loss has helped me be a little more empathetic at his devastation and hopefully we can learn together how to take losing like champs.
Anyhoo, it has been so fun playing with these ladies and today was no exception. I was SO excited when I looked out the window this morning and realized I'd get to play in the sloppy, wet rain. Growing up in Oregon, I grew fond of the frequent "puddle jumping" opportunities my sister Heather and friend Jenny and I were given.


So, needless to say, today I was feeling quite at home running around in the rain and mud and with the encouragement of Jill, we created the perfect sliding spot and celebrated our win. Who says we're too old for this!?!!?





(Yes, I do realize the pooh inducing position I am in here...I'm so photogenic!)


The big blob of mud on the side of my face was courtesy of Carrie. Let's just say it's a good thing I love her....and that she's way faster than I am! :)

P.S. These women are even cooler than they look in these pics--LOVE 'EM!!!

GRRR!!!

(I'd take a pic of myself being annoyed, but.....)

So, I live my life according to blogs these days. What I mean is, when I see something happening with myself, my hubby or my kids, my initial thought is, "This would be a great blog--I need a picture." (Am I alone in this or has the blogging world shifted all your universes as well?) Anyway, this new technologically driven habit has been stunted by the annoying fact that I CANNOT, for the life of me, find my STUPID camera! So, not only can I not load up the 1st day of school pics I took of Luke and Jozlyn for my "Back to School" blog (premeditated, mind you), but when the kids throw about 7 loads of clean laundry all over my living room (yes, that's right; I have 7+ loads of clean laundry that needs to be folded--when I find my camera, I'll take a picture of that, too. It's impressive, I must say) I can't even take a picture. I had to just sigh at my misfortune of a lost camera and make the kids help me clean it up. What good is a huge mess, if I don't have a way to document it? It may finally come down to me asking Joe for a new one and while I'm at it, I may as well ask for the video camera and Kitchen Aid mixer I have been dying for.....

It could happen.....

It's Almost Time!!!

This will be me--hopefully, minus the scruff and wife beater--on October 14th, when the new season of Eli Stone begins. Lame? Maybe, but I have been waiting for this and The Office (YAY JIM AND PAM!!) since the sad day it left us hanging last season. Take my advice and make this part of your weekly schedule and you can thank me later!!

Uppercase Living

As some of you may know, I am a demonstrator for a company called Uppercase Living. It is a company that specializes in decorative vinyl lettering for your home. I just wanted to let you all know that I am having a 25% off sale on all orders made by the end of this month. You can view the catalogue online if you visit my website at andreaj.uppercaseliving.net (no www), or view a sample of the product below. If you see something you like or have any questions, let me know!

She was the Dancing Queen--FAR from 17!!!

Well, I am about to share a moment with you all--some I know and some possible "blog stalkers" (I only assume, because I am one)--of a day in my life when I was in rare form and exposed a side of myself that even I have rarely seen. A few weeks ago, some friends and I had the "genius" idea to dress our little selves up and head to the sing-along version of Mamma Mia--yes, we have one here...only in Provo...). Well, after a "JACKPOT!!" trip to DI (long, embarrassing story for me--I won't expound), Savers, JoAnn's, and Amanda's for her AMAZING sewing skills, we were set with some pretty awesome (I use this term loosely) outfits. When we came up with this idea, I'm not really sure we anticipated the energy and effort we would put into these costumes, but I think we are all glad we tried as hard as we did...looking ridiculous has to be over-the-top, otherwise it just isn't worth it.

Well, once we were sufficiently decked out--platforms, bell-bottoms and fake eyelashes--we headed to the theatre and flamboyantly (i.e. obnoxiously) took our seats. We laid low for a few songs, but once "Dancing Queen" came on, we were out of our seats dancing and singing and getting the rest of the theatre into it as well. (Apparently they weren't aware that they had bought tickets to the SING-ALONG...sheesh!). At one point, we MAY have made our way up to the front of the theater and we MAY have sang and danced (WITH our blow up microphones, courtesy of Julie) and had the crowd clapping and singing along. It was a totally blast and I had a stomach ache once it was over.

But, it wasn't over. Our friends who hadn't dressed up, decided that not enough of Provo had seen our transvestite ways and thought we needed to go to Denny's for a little extra exposure. So, after some cherries ;), milkshakes and an embarrassing close call, we headed home beginning to feel our age....which, I mentioned before is WAY past 17.....

Thanks ladies for an evening I won't soon forget. Here's a few pics I've gotten (I still can't find my camera) and once CARRIE sends me hers, I'll post those as well. ENJOY!!!

Those of you who know, can you tell who is who?

Our summer...

Well, I lied-- I said I would have these pictures up before my new semester started, but of course I kept putting it off and now, here I am at almost 2AM loading them onto my computer. But I knew I had to get it done before I got too far into the semester and ran completely out of time.


So, here is our summer and why our ward (church) thinks we've gone inactive. :) It was an amazing, fun filled summer. Joe left us for his internship in Colorado while I finished off my last couple weeks of school. My family came for their annual 4th of July visit to Utah and Joe was able to come home as well. After the 4th of July, Joe drove us out to Colorado to visit him and spend some time visiting our old stomping grounds. (Along the way I was of little worth as this was the beginning of what we like to call in our family, the "Twilight Obsession.") It was great to be together as a family and to see the beautiful state of Colorado. The kids and I were able to get in touch with old friends and see many great things. We rode the Pikes Peak train to the top of Pikes Peak (obviously), went to the zoo, swam in the hotel pool, got gum stuck in our hair (a first for our family) and rode another train in western Colorado--which, by the way, is one of the most breathtaking places I have ever been!


When our time in Colorado was over, we stopped home in Utah for the Jorgensen Family Reunion. We went to This Is the Place Park in Salt Lake and spent a bunch of time with family that we don't get to see very often.


Once our weekend was up here in Utah, we headed to Oregon where Joe would return to Colorado and I would take my position on the back burner while my kids ignored me and got spoiled by their Nana, Papa and Uncle Erik. It sounds like I'm bitter, but that is the furthest from the truth. Yeah, my kids need me for bedtime, mealtime and maybe a hurt feeling here and there, but other than that, they couldn't have cared less if I was there. My mom had them so busy going on nature hunts, dancing at the concert in the park, teaching Luke to play chess, and happily doing nickel chores around her house, that I was able to escape for a week to visit Joe in Colorado. There is something amazing about my kids going weeks without even a desire to watch television. They were so busy being creative and playing outside, they didn't have time for TV. It is going to be tough getting back into winter here in Utah and to find ourselves stuck inside with nothing but TV to watch. Anybody got any good ideas on how to help the winter pass without my children's brains turning to mush?


Anyway, it was so fun to spend time just me and Joe...and let me tell you that riding the airplane without a single child is something I haven't done for....oh 5 and 1/2 YEARS! I highly recommend it to all my mommy friends out there...you forget how relaxing a plane ride can be, just you, "Twilight" (for the second time--remember "Obsession"), an iPOD and the sky....seriously, it's therapy. Anyway, Joe and I had such a great time being geographically childless for a week, going out to dinner without the threat of embarrassment, meeting up with friends and staying out AS LATE AS WE WANTED, and hiking a couple crazy-high mountains!! (See pics) If I didn't love my kids so dang much, I might have just left them with my parents--it's not like they would've cared. :-)


Well, once Joe was finished with his internship, he and I road tripped it back to Utah where we parted ways again--he to Boy Scout Camp and me back to Oregon. When I returned to Oregon, I was happy to see that I had been sufficiently missed and that my children did, in fact, love me. They had such a great time, though! I am so grateful for parents who love my children so much that I can leave without worry and for the Army for keeping us away just long enough that the novelty my parents have for my children still hasn't worn off.


After camp, Joe met us back down in Oregon, where he and I were again able to take a few more days to spend at the coast at a cute little bed and breakfast he found for us. It was a perfect way to begin our busy lives again and rejuvenate our love for each other. As always, it was heartbreaking for all for us to have to leave Oregon, but my kids have been filled with memories and bonds that will last a life time.


Now, it's back to school for all of us but Kate! It's coming down to the end of mine and Joe's time in school and therefore our time here in Utah. We want to savor the last 10 or so months we have here and leave knowing we have gained some of the best friends we could have imagined.

More Midnight Sun info...

Found this out on Stephenie Meyer's website regarding "Midnight Sun." I thought many of you might be interested in it......getting 264 pages of it is amazing, but knowing that it could be all we get is terribly frustrating. Read for yourselves:

August 28, 2008 (part II)

As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher.
I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.
I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being. As the author of the Twilight Saga, I control the copyright and it is up to the owner of the copyright to decide when the books should be made public; this is the same for musicians and filmmakers. Just because someone buys a book or movie or song, or gets a download off the Internet, doesn't mean that they own the right to reproduce and distribute it. Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control.
So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.
I'd rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun. It was only an incomplete draft; the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes. But how do I comment on this violation without driving more people to look for the illegal posting? It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I've decided to make the draft available here . This way, my readers don't have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest. I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward's head and adds a new dimension to the Twilight story. That's what inspired me to write it in the first place.
I do want to take a moment and thank the wonderful fans who have been so supportive of me over the past three years. I cannot begin to tell you how much each of you means to me. I only hope this note will stop all the confusion and online speculation so that the Twilight universe can once again become the happy escape it used to be. After this incredibly busy year, I am now focusing on spending more time with my family and working on some other writing projects.
--Stephenie

Tagged by Kelli....

I thought this was fun-I love pictures and the feelings and emotions they provide without the words. So here I am, in pictures:
Age:












Favorite Color:












Where I grew up:

Where I'd like to travel:























Favorite vacation spot(s):























Favorite Food: (I love a good summer BBQ and everything that comes with it!!)











Favorite Treat:

Favorite Animal:










First Name:

Last Name: (Try to ignore the fact that it's on a headstone :)







(My maiden name was a little easier to find; not to mention a LOT less depressing):

















What I am doing:










And now I tag whoever has the time to look up all these pictures... Have fun!