I was barely sitting down when I heard a voice from the other stall saying: "Hi, how are you?"
I'm not the type to start a conversation in the restroom but I don't know what got into me, so I answered, somewhat embarrassed, "Doin' just fine!"
And the other person says: "So what are you up to?"
What kind of question is that? At that point, I'm thinking this is too bizarre so I say:
"Uhhh, I'm like you, just traveling!"
At this point I am just trying to get out as fast as I can when I hear another question.
"Can I come over?"
Ok, this question is just too weird for me but I figured I could just be polite and end the conversation. I tell him, "No.......I'm a little busy right now!!!"
Then I hear the person say nervously...
"Listen, I'll have to call you back. There's an idiot in the other stall who keeps answering all my questions."
(Ha..ha..ha! Soo....this is just a joke I came across....but, the funny thing is that it really has actually happened to me before!!....except I didn't carry on a full conversation....luckily!!! The other thing I can't get use to is the blue-tooth, phone in the ear thing. It constantly throws me for a loop when I'm in the grocery store or walking somewhere...ARGH!!!)
Christmas Day.....Hip-Hip-Hurray!!!
So, I know that there are a lot of advertisements connected with these slide shows.....but....I like the slideshow feature....and yes, I am too cheap to buy it without the advertisements! With all the pictures that tell the story, this just fit better. We had a FANTASTIC day!! It even snowed a little for us....which was my Christmas wish! A little story behind the Wii....yes....we stood in line. We got up super duper early the day after Thanksgiving and Bob stood in the dark under an awning for an obscure store called Game Stop. He waited and waited and thought for sure they would only have 1 or 2 in the store....it was a tiny store. When they finally came out to pass out tickets....Bob's heart started racing....the man got closer.....could it be???.....closer....ohhhh the anticipation as the guy in front of him got a ticket....YES!!!!...the guy was handing him a ticket. It turned out he was number 29 of the 33 tickets handed out. Now...there was still an hour before the store opened....DON'T LOSE THE TICKET!! Our ENTIRE day and Christmas season was made. We hooted and hooted all the way home! Finally Christmas morning came and we could play. It is a BLAST!! The graphics definitely aren't as good as our x-box 360....but ohhh....so fantastically fun for our family!!Thank you Santa!!
Ho-Ho-Ho....it's Christmas Eve!!
Make sure to turn off my music before you watch this :) We sure did have fun. Thank you Lindsey, Adam, Tanner, Conner, Emma and Jeffery for a wonderful evening. Christmas is the best with family!
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OHHH....How I LOVE these three!!
Here are my EVERYTHINGS!!
How do I even begin to describe the love I have for these guys??....I can't even begin without crying...I know, I know....I'm so sappy!! Amanda and Bob are singing in the choir today for church. Unfortunately I am sitting home because of a freindly case of bronchitis....(It makes sure to re-aquaint itself every year...couldn't ask for a better friend!)....so, poor Nathan will be sitting by himself. I'm kind of bummed. But, just seeing these three get all dressed up and loaded in the car with their scriptures in hand and smiles on their faces makes me so happy! I just want to SQUEEZE, SQUEEZE, SQUEEZE them all the time!! They're so dang CUTE!!
It's recital time!
Here are a few "posed" shots of the kids AFTER their piano recital. :) A little twist happened this year.....The kid's piano teacher found out that Nathan started playing the trumpet this year for band.....so....she asked if he wanted to play it at the recital. He did fabulous! Amanda accompanied him. All I could think of was how much better he sounds now compare to when he started 2 months ago. It was adorable because after they played, they came together and held hands to bow. We are so proud of both Amanda and Nathan!! It's so tough with busy schedules to find time to practice....but they're sticking with it. Bob and I LOVE to listen to them play. They really bring their music to life.
I have to point out a typical Amanda-ism in the picture above. Notice the black bracelet on her right wrist? Well.....it's not a bracelet....it's a ponytail holder. It doesn't matter how dressed up things get....she will always have her ever faithful ponytail holder....so when she's done looking pretty.....up goes the hair and she's back in business :)
Happy 1st Birthday Toby!!
Can you even believe that we did such a thing?? What a riot!! We invited some friends (Toby's second family ... The Durrants) over for some "dog"-gone-good partying!! The Durrants watched Toby for a week in the spring for us while we went to the Ordyna Family Reunion and became just as hooked on the dog as we are. There's just something about this Toby that all of a sudden turns you into a dog lover. The Durrants even call to have Toby come over and play. The cutest thing of all was Kristen Durrant spending her hard earned money on a bone for Toby this last summer...and buying him the cutest little pillow for his birthday. So...with all this love......why not have a party!! Yes....I know...for many of you we've just solidified that we are CRAZY! :) But at least we're having fun. Oh yeah....I had to also make sure to post this event for my brother Danny who thinks my blog is a "Toby" blog.
Toby got all dressed up for the event in a nice sweater and shirt.....along with a nice party hat!
Yes.....he even got his own cake! They actually sell these dog cakes. I just thought it was too funny to pass up. Toby LOVED it!! He dove right into it. The funny thing was that we were all gathered around the table actually watching him eat his cake. We laughed and laughed. What a good time!
Toby's party-time gang. I sure appreciate having such fun family and friends that make the most out of life. It's great to be happy and find little things to celebrate and enjoy!! Even a dog. Thanks to ALL of you.
And I think I'm doing so well!!
Maybe it's just the day but, this cartoon is hilarious to me!! Anyone want to know how my days usually go.....here it is!!! I just blissfully go about my work only to discover at the end of the day that it appears I didn't get anything done.
Helping Flood Victims
On Thursday night we got a call from a few people letting us know that the bishop would like the youth to participate in a clean-up effort in the town of Vernonia, Oregon. There is a small LDS branch up there and some members really needed assistance with cleaning out the gunk, as well as taking their furniture, appliances and other belongs out for the dump. They needed their carpets and linolium ripped up and subfloors completely removed. Bob and Nathan were suppose to go on a scout campout the next day. Bob had just walked in the door from buying all the food and supplies for the campout when the calls started coming. His initial response was, "Well, we've already reserved the site and I just bought the food...so....it doesn't look like the deacons will be able to make it." When he went to pick up Nathan from trumpet lessons, he started having second thoughts. So, after discussing it a little more with me, he decided to ask the young men what they wanted to do. Nathan wanted to help at Vernonia and when he called the Deacons Quorum president, he wanted to also....so...we now have good "campout" food in our house to eat.....and instead....they packed their rainboots, rubber gloves and dust masks....and headed off to Vernonia early Sat. morning. What an experience! Nathan told me about how he walked into a bedroom and saw the walls painted with blue and there were planets on the walls and it was a really cool room. He thought of the boy who's stuff was all ruined and felt really sad for him. It was wonderful to hear my usually self-centered boy thinking so deeply about the welfare of others. I love service and truly feel sooooo bad for the people who's lives have been turned upside down. Here are some pictures of the flood and their day. Oh yeah.....Amanda wasn't able to go because of a previous comittment with school. And, I didn't get to go because I had to drive Amanda around....bummer!
Here's a sky shot of the town while it was under water....all roads in and out of the town were flooded for days also. Plus, there was no electricity. Terrible!
Nate with his Young Men's leader and a couple of Deacon's Quorum buddies
The destroyer.....right up Nate's alley of fun!!
Big Bad Bob! As you can see Bob is a tad bit muddy. He had a run in with the muck on the ground while he was carrying out a TV in the house. The gunk was a bit slippery and rubber boots don't tend to have very good traction.....well....YUCKY!!
Our Tree
My wonderful sister-in-law, Jamie, asked to see pictures of our "travelocity" tree. We visited them in Virginia last year. She was an eye witness to the out-of control purchasing of ornaments on our sabbatical. Let me explain......We've had a tradition since we've been married to buy (if possible) and ornament at various places we visit as a family. It's been super fun each year to get them out and say "ohhh...do you remember...." Well, on our sabbatical we took two months of traveling....basically we blew our budget on ornaments! If we were smart....we should have made an exception to the tradition! We've actually collected so many ornaments now that it is a PAIN to put them on the tree. Anyway, here's a few photos (well....actually.....A LOT) to document the Tomlinson Tree Lighting. (hope you don't get too bored)
We braved the wintery rain to find the perfect tree. Nathan still doesn't understand why it takes so long to find a tree....they all look the same! Plus, he says....we see one and then we waste all this time and then go back to the first one we saw. Bah-humbug!
A small sampling of the ornaments.
The Tree trimmers...Yes...they are still smiling and working.
The finished Product.....Hurray!!!! We love it!!! It's amazing how much a tree will change the feeling of the room.
Here's our first ornament (the San Francisco Trolley) and an ornament of the temple we got married in. To this day, Bob still uses a phrase that he picked up on our honeymoon from the Trolley conductor..."Back door lady, Back door" Just writing the words don't give it justice....you need to hear him do the accent. We had so much fun on our honeymoon....even though 1/2 of it was spent arguing :) Hard to believe it's been 15 years.....almost 16!...And all of it has been pure bliss! (I'm getting old....memories fading)
Here's Amanda's favorite....New York was the end of the two months for us. We had no money by then, it was record breaking heat, and we walked everywhere....but....boy did we have a BLAST! One of the kids favorite memories is going to the Today Show and to Serendipity's for frozen hot chocolate....Yes....that's an oxi-moron. (how do you spell that?)
This was just too cool of a shot to pass up. It's from Churchill Downs....Kentucky Derby. About 1/2 way through the vacation, we threw a visit to this place in at the last minute...We're glad we went! It was here that we decided we had too many ornaments to pack around anymore.....so.....we found a post office and mailed 2 boxes home....yes....full of ornaments and other souvenirs - we were wacked out! (were??? we still are!)
The kid's tree. Nate has a ton of fun finding his tiny tree each year.
I love the ornaments on the kid's tree...there's a lot of these cute sentimental ones. Nate's hand is now double the size of this one from kindergarten. Those were fun days!
Just a cool picture of their piano ornament that each one got from their piano teacher last year.
My Christmas village. This is one of my favorite decorations. I have to get a new thing each year. Except this year Bob wouldn't let me get one because he said there's no room. I think I'll sneak after Christmas and see what I can find at a steal-of-a-deal price and then pack it away. Next year, he won't even realize!
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