Things I've Done

The rules: bold anything you have done.

1. Started your own blog - um, duh
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (JCAHO and the Feds, thanks to Angie)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis - a dead one. I helped Liesel pin lots of bugs for her entomology class once...
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - I consider motherhood, parking an F-250, and blogging all arts
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
20. Slept on an train - I have a funny train story. Ask me about it sometime...
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - Mom used to sign me out of school so I could babysit my brother sometimes. I loved those days...
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - you'll notice that this one is no longer on my list of things to do before I die at the right
27. Run a Marathon - I'm going for a half in April!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - I got Haagen-Daas and watched the gondolas glide down the fake river in the Venetian in Vegas - does that count?
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - who hasn't?
31. Hit a home run - I wish...
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person - Aaron promised he'd take me next time we go to NY.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - well, Grandma B was born in Holden, UT. So I guess so.
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - as long as we're in the black, I think that's enough
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - I would every day if I could
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - lots of pictures, not yet in person
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight - It was actually a really depressing experience.
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - someday...
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - I love to snorkel!
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (and got in big trouble afterward)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - my cousin Richard's home movie about the bar getting held up (which was actually Grandma's basement. The guts of the old pinball machine were the safe, and I got to be the bartender dressed in a Mu-mu.) It's a classic.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - lemonade stand totally counts. And my sisters and I would barter and buy each other's knicknacks when we were kids.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia - Ya lublyu tebya, Rossii! Kogdata ya vergnuyuc k tebye!!
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - Samoas are my favorite!
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - I managed blood once, but I get really woozy every time I try.
65. Gone sky diving - No way. Jumping out of a plane for recreational purposes doesn't strike me as sane.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - luckily not recently
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar - it wasn't as bad as I thought. The Russians like it.
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - almost, but not quite
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a Bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - again, I have my cousin Richard to thank for this one...
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - someday...
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - micro machines!
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - I think I was in the Highlands Ranch Herald a few times...
85. Read the entire Bible (not quite - close)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - Nat claims I saved her life by pulling her out from the undertoe in Hawaii. And Aaron says he'd have no life without me...
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - Dallin H. Oaks
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (well, kinda. I dug up potential evidence for a potential law suit...)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

Half Marathon

This is it - I'm doin' it! I'm finally putting my new running shoes to good use and making the jump to half marathon. I started training on Tuesday with my friend Megan. It's going well; I'm not hurting nearly as bad as I thought I would be, though I can tell that making the time is going to be an issue. Aaron and Noah even ran with us this morning with the stroller :-)

We're running the Provo City Half Marathon in April. Let me know if you want to join the fun!

Torture and Tricks

Nothing spells torture for a little kid better than a trip to the D-O-C-T-O-R. Poor little Noah had his 6 month check-up today. He coincidentally decided to get sick just for the occasion, but there's not any medicine that's okay to give a 6-month old for a chest cold. He's had to endure Mom and Dad wiping his nose and using the dreaded nose vacuum on him several times a day. To add insult to injury, he had to get shots today, too. Luckily, he's a trooper and pretty easygoing, so hopefully he won't hate me forever.

On a brighter note, our highly trainable primate is developing well and does the following tricks:

-talks to himself and others in unintelligable babble
-chews on his toes
-rolls over from front to back
-grabs toys, hair, plates, paper, and kitchen utensils
-smiles and flirts with the ladies
-sits up without help
-leans forward and falls on his face
-eats solid foods (he seems particularly fond of squash)
-can pull all of the rings off of the rack-a-stack
-laughs in response to you laughing at him
-splashes in the tub with his legs
-plays peek-a-boo
-puts anything and everything into his mouth

We love you, Noah!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

Like father...

...like son. This is Noah and Bucky, his new favorite toy (much to Aaron's delight). Thanks, Aunt Melanie!

Blog Comments

I was whining to Aaron the other day about how even though I've repented of my blogless ways, no one was leaving any comments for my blog posts. I've found the key to getting comments on your blog. Forget about cute pictures, poems, or interesting stories - post about Obama and Twilight! :-)

Confessions...

I am ashamed to admit it, but a big motivator for me is the desire to not be what I like to call "that girl." When I was a kid, I saw all these teenagers so preoccupied with the way they looked. I didn't want to be "that girl" that wouldn't leave the house without makeup on, that spent hours primping and coiffing every strand of hair. When I was a teenager, I never wanted to be "that girl" that was obsessed with whatever TV or movie star was hot at the time and had Bop posters all over her locker. And recently, I never wanted to be "that girl" that went ga-ga over the oh-so-beautiful-and-ethereal Edward Cullen...

And then the same muse that hit me over the head with the Scrabble sonnet in my last post or the departed spirit of my Grandma Baker, patron saint of all good books, (I'm honestly not sure which) nudged my attentions in the direction of this black book that has been lurking on my shelf ever since the guy at half.com sent it by accident (long story - it was supposed to be Holly's Christmas present last year). I opened it and after a few dozen pages, I was hooked.

For those of you that haven't read it, I will caution you that you can tell that Meyer was not yet a seasoned author when she wrote it; Edward's eyes "smolder" and "his expression is unfathomable" more times than I'd care to recall. However, if you can get past the redundant descriptions of Edward's captivating glory the premise is quite interesting, and she develops the dichotomy between the man in love and the repressed vampire very well. So for those of you that swore you'd never be "that girl" (or guy), if you liked the page-turning addiction of Harry Potter, give Twilight a whirl.

A Sonnet for My Friend Scrabble

This one's for my dad, my sisters, and my husband, who are the only ones that truly understand my Scrabble obsession, and are willing to put up with it.

A Sonnet for My Friend Scrabble

The teeny wooden tiles criss and cross
As back and forth and round my brain does flips.
Dad put an 'x' on triple word - all hope is lost
'cause now I've got no place for "monolith."


There goes my fifty bonus points again;
he's spoiled my move ten times this game alone.
I guess all I can play right now is "thin"
and draw three letters more. "Is spown


a word?" I didn't think so. "How 'bout plear?"
That only gives me seven points. Let's see...
I could do "sleep" on triple letter here,
or "plain" on double word score - that's fourteen.

That leaves me stuck with Q to crash and burn.
Alright - here goes. I'm done; fourteen. Your turn!

Goodbye to Gramm

Aaron's grandmother, Agnes Rapp Sisson, passed away last night at age 94. We went to pay our respects last night. As we were there talking, I was struck by the thought that the body she left behind was just an empty shell. The body lying there was no more of Gramm than a hermit crab's shell is of the animal. Truly the human soul is the combination of body and spirit.

She will be missed by our family and many others. We'll particularly miss her Sisson family sense of humor and her love for us, especially for Noah. She loved having him visit. We are sad that she is gone, but we're happy that she has "graduated."

Catch-Up Post #3: Christmas Strikes Back

More Christmas pictures...

"My auntie's cooler than your auntie..."

Check out those cheeks!

Nonna introduced Noah to all sorts of fun things over Christmas.

Mikey, I think he likes it!

Okay, Poppa, be honest. Which of your grandkids is cuter?

He got the double chin from the whipped cream, I think.

Zoe trying out the drums.

Catch-Up Post #2: The Sequel

Here are some photos from Christmas. We spent the holidays with my parents in Oklahoma. It was great to have the entire Morgan family there.



Santa brought Zoe some drums that light up and play music. I wish they made toys that cool when I was a kid! Ryan is helping Z get the hang of things. He is also wearing Natalie's high school sweatshirt. He wore it for most of the break, which I thought was hilarious.

Nat checking out her stocking loot.

Ben, though doubtlessly the first one up Christmas morning, is looking a little groggy still...

"Hey Dad, what's this for?"

The Morgans and my cousin Elder Miller. He was coincidentally serving in Tulsa during Christmas, so we stopped by his apartment with some Christmas goodies and familiar faces.

Catch-Up Posts

I kidnapped the SAN disk out of my parents' camera, so I think I'll take the opportunity to plug the holes I've left by my lack of blog posts.

Remember how I couldn't find my family in all the blessing pictures of Noah and Zoe? I found them!

Nonna and Poppa with the munchkins. The babies were so tiny back then!

Holly and Zoe.

Two little happy families :-)

Baker cousins Reese, Hayzen, and Adrie. Actually they're my first cousins once removed, but who's counting?

The Kesler clan. Except Nicole, who was in NY at the time. She is excused from this photo.

Grandpa Baker and his wife Jane meeting my father-in-law.

My mother-in-law (foreground) and grandmother-in-law (background). Is that even a real relation? Grandmother-in-law?

Baby Z. Busy, as usual.