Mighty Hunter Josh!

Josh the mighty hunter! With his gun and his other weapon (his snowmobile)! Isn't that so awesome? Seriously, Josh is the most fierce coyote hunter west of the Mississippi River!

JT and Amanda

JT and Amanda were sealed last month and since I was already stealing pictures from my parents' camera I thought I'd share the
Grandparents, JT and Amanda, and Johnny and Trenna outside the Rexburg Temple.

Since Susie Q doesn't have a blog!

Sam Jam, Avery, Morgan and Joshy! It took my parents coming to California and Sam Jam taking the pictures for me to see these cute girls, oh and Josh! ;) I figured some of you'd like to see little Morgan growing too, since Susie Q is still living in the stone ages of no blogs. ;)






Morgan loves Joshy Squashy

MADNESS IS IN THE AIR!

In California the flowers are blooming, in Idaho it is two degrees below zero-but the month is still March and Spring Madness is most definitely in the air! I categorize my favorite months with the exception of my birthday month being my number one favorite month (September), based on the sports calendar. October is obviously reserved as my #2 for post-season baseball action. March earns the coveted #3 favorite month! As my wise friend KT puts it: "Boys come and go, but basketball is forever!" It starts with conference tournaments and that great day (selection Sunday) where bracketology commences. I always have my "practice" brackets before my final bracket is complete the following Thursday. This year the clear winner is UCLA! While after the first two rounds have pretty much killed my bracket, UCLA hung on through a nail-biting fight with Texas A&M. After that save, I would probably wear Ben's "Howland is My Homeboy" shirt proudly after that win! Let us not forget the player of the game, Kevin Love, whom everyone should LOVE! Madness is full of the upsets that truly make the tourney madness: W. Kentucky, Siena, Villanova, Davidson, etc. This year Madness has been brought to a whole another level, thanks to our EPA hosts that have been providing the ultimate Madness experience (57" HD screen, unlimited food, and toasts for every upset)! Madness brings people together in ways that only sports are able to! Praise to March, praise to the buzzer-beaters, and praise to the joy that Madness brings to the soul!

Jack Berry

My Grandpa Berry was one of my favorite people. My Grandpa always smelled like Bengay and Winter Green lifesavers. I could talk to him about anything. I credit my Yankees addiction to Jack Berry! Every morning at 9 am, The Price is Right was on at Grandpa’s television. We knew all the games (Pinkco was my favorite) and when Bob retired in 2007 I did cry...more because of the memories I have with my Grandpa with this show than because of Bob, but I still did. It was no secret that I was Grandpa’s favorite. I could talk him into doing anything for his Jessie Faye. He is the only person that would call me, Jessie. Even to this day, other than Sami Jami, no one calls me Jessie. I would always call him on the phone in the morning and he would come up from the plant or from his house and drive me two blocks to school. Yes, spoiled rotten! He and I would talk about everything; it might sound crazy that people whose age difference is almost 60 years could be best friends. I remember when he’d get mad he’d say “go get me a willow so I can swat your rear”. I’d go outside, but I wouldn’t come back in the house for awhile (by the time I came back inside he had forgotten why he was mad), instead I’d sit on this wooden swing in their front yard. I spent a lot of time on that swing. I would pretend like I was studying nature, but in reality some of my best thinking was done on that swing. When I was 13 years old, my softball team played for the championship. Now my Grandpa had been on oxygen since before I can remember, but he came to that game. We won the game; my mom (the coach) was talking to Grandpa (who was sitting in the car) after the game. Well some of us decided to throw the water jug over my mom, we went to throw and she moved, so the water covered my Grandpa. He started saying “Oh my Hell, Oh my Hell”. That has to be the funniest memory of my Grandpa. The funny thing is he never really got mad about being soaked. My Grandpa had some very colorful language too! One of my favorite Jack Berry quotes that I’ve heard on so many occasions, that the first time I heard my Uncle Richard use the quote in softball practice, while all the other girls looked mildly shocked, I simply took the advice to heart again and listened. “Spit in that in damn mitt!” My Grandpa provided me with my first taste of Berry Oil. I was his “admin”. I’d file invoices while he would make up a deposit, wait on customers, etc. and then he’d open up the drawer of his large desk and pull out a candy bar for us. He is definitely to blame for my sweet tooth. I loved those afternoons in his office; I think that is where my veins changed from blood to oil.

Ghost Runner Baseball

When I was younger, my favorite things to do were to play in the mud and play ghost-runner baseball with Matty. Ghost runner baseball is playing baseball with two people. Matt would be on one team and I would be on the other team. The reason we would call it ghost runner was because who ever was playing offense would run around the bases until the defense stopped them. Then, the person would go back and bat again and in place of the runner, a “ghost runner” was placed. The ghost runner never got out. Matt and I would make bases with my mom’s couch pillows. I remember her getting so upset with us. We played this all the time. When I think about all the things I ever did in my childhood, playing ghost runner with my big brother was one of my most treasured memories.

Rainy Day in the City

Chris, Alex, Jess, Meredith with some shady characters
Meredith's friend Chris came to visit from Utah and of course the day we planned to go into the City it was pouring rain. But we still had a great time, getting wet, having chocolate sundaes, and playing tourist. I feel it is necessary to play tourist at least once every four months partly because it is vital to polish your tour-guiding abilities (for when other guests come) and partly because otherwise you get stuck in the mundane and forget about the awesome place you reside in.

Days in the Bay

Heather (HC), Mr. Pookie, and Mike. Yes, those are rubber ducky pajamas! Mike is my HERO!
Saturday morning Mer, Mikey, Keena Walters, and I went out to breakfast after WoCo. While we were waiting we saw this little girl and the Sponge Bob balloon man and I couldn't resist. Older photo of Mer, Nic, Mike, and I. Mer hates touching! Hehe...so this is us helping her "practice" hugging. As you can see, she looks thrilled to be there.
Mikey napping in the Salon, prior to her amazing hair sculpting with Gustavo! Mike and I were out, those chairs were comfortable!
Mer post-Gustavo hair sculpting! Her hair looks great!

Oscar Night---FHE Style

No, we did not attend the real Oscars. We did however have celebrities in our mists. Matthew McConaughey, Michael Scott, Lance Armstrong, Hilary Clinton, and Google to name just a few. Mikey and I definitely looked amazing enough to make the "Best Dressed" list in People magazine! All the FHE groups had spent months making mini-films and then we all got dressed up and viewed the films. The winner of the best film was the "FHE-Office", let's hope it gets on YouTube soon! My favorite film moment is a toss up between Brooke Crosland playing Angela from The Office or Meredith Bergin's hair tossing. Hard decision! Too hard! They tie.May I point out four things in this photo: 1) Mikey's hot red handbag/wrap duo. 2) Mikey's heels! 3) Mikey is NOT a whole head taller than me! (Please refer to point #2) 4) Mikey did my eye make-up (a new skill that she's developing and I'm happy to be the test dummy).

We were sure how the wrap worked initially.

Mikey and I at our real heights!

The Human Christmas Tree!

In December we had a ward Christmas party and Mikey had the awesome idea to make a Human Christmas tree. The Human Christmas Tree only has two requirements: one green person and at least one red person. Beyond that people are able to freely express their artist abilities and philosophies. The first picture is Mike, Mer, Nic, and I at the Christmas party. Obviously you see the Human Christmas Tree is expressing peace, happiness, and a slice of a Broadway show flare. The second was taken last week after Mikey and I attended the Oscars. We figured since we met the two requirements to make a Human Christmas Tree, we better create one, especially for Meredith. In this tree we are exciting hotness and a thrill for life. Side note: If you look at the 2nd photo from the waist up, it kind of looks like Mikey is trying to baptize me. (What an apostate!) :)

Apples to Apples and MASH

Preface: Karren, Roni, Maren, and I were recently released from the RS presidency and we felt the occasion deserved some real celebrating. What we did: Had a legit slumber party as adults (It was obviously at my place because I only do "sleepovers" when I get a bed (preferably my own)).

Apples to Apples:First let me say that I am not that fond of this particular game. It is way too subjective to actually be competitive, which let's face it I play games because I LOVE competition (almost to a fault). Yet, when you play this game with Karren Thomas, Roni Lane, and Maren Pearson; combine large quantities of sugar and my late night delirious humor this game becomes extremely entertaining! Classic moment: We had been boasting throughout the evening about our favorite people in the ward (Peter Finlayson and Mike Orgill). We adore them both and KT and I tend to swap adoring comments daily about them! So when the adjective was Awesome, I used my wild card and opted to use Peter Finlayson (I figured I had that round in the bag). Roni must have had too much cheese and Kool-Aid because she picked Maren's card! Please! Sorry Peter, we have since explained how the word "Awesome" is your middle name! :)

Various quotes that the four of us might only find funny include but aren't limited to these: Jess: Taking pictures of cards is hard. (This was super late, remember) Maren: I have showered occasionally this week. Jess's response: Awesome! We thought the adjectives that we won fit us so well that they deserved a blog post, hence the comment about taking the pictures!

As for MASH, like all games of MASH the results remain in the sisterhood. Let's just say that while I ended up being poor as a church mouse and living in N.C., my husband was a catch and an accountant to boot. As for Roni, the opposite happened. Too bad money doesn't bring true happiness, but you'll always have the Phoenix Suns! :) HEHE!

For anyone that really knows me, the Fabulous and Arrogant cards are dead giveaways that these ones are mine.

Any guesses? The perfect and lucky card is where the hint is. Yes, Roni! Mostly so lucky because she spends time with us!

This one kind of represents Maren (that is what we were thinking until we got to Pure). Now we aren't sure? Maybe there was a fifth player that was invisible. That has to explain it.

KT is the only one left, easy guess. The top two are so fitting!

Karren impersonating Mike Orgill (whom we love!) in PEC Meeting. It is kind of scary how well she pulls off the face!

Roni is still smiling after a week of only sleeping two hours a night. What a trooper or insane person! Whatever one you prefer. Those three stayed up until 4 am and 6 am respectively, the girl with an 80 year old body hit the hay at 1:30 am. I'm still wondering how they pulled it off. Maren drinking more Kool-Aid...no wonder she lasted until 6 am! Karren still pleasant at that hour....amazing. I have a hard and fast rule that no photos are taken of me past 11 pm for good reasons. :)