I thought it would be cool to know everyone's love languages. Are you familiar with this theory? Here's the link:
Adults: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/30-second-quizzes/love/
Children: http://crcpeninsula.org/Love_Languages_Children_Guiz.pdf
I think that if we all knew one another's languages it could help us understand one another and find more things in common then we already know! It'll be fun :)
I'll start ~
Erik: Physical Touch, Quality Time/Words of Affirmation
Lisa: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service
Kyson: Quality Time, Words of Affirmation/Gifts
5/8/12
The Appreciated Prank
Real tricksters do not limit themselves to a mere month in the calendar year. At least not the one I know.
Like most of you I remember one year experiencing the blue milk and green mashed potatoes. As kids we thought it was kinda cool. April Fools was for verbal jokes mostly though. The kind that instigate a head turn to look at something not really there or a "Really?" to be followed with a jocular response of "April Fools!" Our boys get a kick out of this day long game.
For my family all the real joking was sprinkled throughout the year. The source usually sprang from one brother in particular. I loved his pranks though. They made me smile. Thinking back now, I was almost always the target. Which makes me smile all the more.
For example one year while at college he baked a cake for my birthday. He arranged for an adventurous double date and brought the cake over when they came to pick me up. They lit the candle and everyone sang Happy Birthday. As my brother, his date and mine, and my roommates huddled around the homemade cake singing, I took in a big breath to blow out the candle. It was at this moment that I noticed smoke billowing out the sides of it and an overpowering foul smell of sulfur. I rushed the cake to the balcony and we worked out our abs with a good laugh.
He had ever so carefully baked and constructed a cake with a smoke bomb in side, crafting a wick long enough to thread through the cake and candle. No one suspected a thing. It was BRILLIANT!
It was acts of thoughtfulness such as these that reinforced my awareness of how much he cared about me. Silly? Maybe. But I knew the thought, the effort and attention he gave to me were acts of brotherly affection. I always remembered them with fondness and looked forward to the next one because he always had to out do himself. Never were they mean spirited.
And not to worry. My roommates loved him. (Sometimes a little too much.) He was adored for his fun and adventure and good nature. Still is.
For me pranks, tricks and even April Fools bring a smile.
(It helps that my brothers could never do wrong in my eyes. They were and are my heroes.)
Delightfully Duped,
Suzanne
Like most of you I remember one year experiencing the blue milk and green mashed potatoes. As kids we thought it was kinda cool. April Fools was for verbal jokes mostly though. The kind that instigate a head turn to look at something not really there or a "Really?" to be followed with a jocular response of "April Fools!" Our boys get a kick out of this day long game.
For my family all the real joking was sprinkled throughout the year. The source usually sprang from one brother in particular. I loved his pranks though. They made me smile. Thinking back now, I was almost always the target. Which makes me smile all the more.
For example one year while at college he baked a cake for my birthday. He arranged for an adventurous double date and brought the cake over when they came to pick me up. They lit the candle and everyone sang Happy Birthday. As my brother, his date and mine, and my roommates huddled around the homemade cake singing, I took in a big breath to blow out the candle. It was at this moment that I noticed smoke billowing out the sides of it and an overpowering foul smell of sulfur. I rushed the cake to the balcony and we worked out our abs with a good laugh.
He had ever so carefully baked and constructed a cake with a smoke bomb in side, crafting a wick long enough to thread through the cake and candle. No one suspected a thing. It was BRILLIANT!
It was acts of thoughtfulness such as these that reinforced my awareness of how much he cared about me. Silly? Maybe. But I knew the thought, the effort and attention he gave to me were acts of brotherly affection. I always remembered them with fondness and looked forward to the next one because he always had to out do himself. Never were they mean spirited.
And not to worry. My roommates loved him. (Sometimes a little too much.) He was adored for his fun and adventure and good nature. Still is.
For me pranks, tricks and even April Fools bring a smile.
(It helps that my brothers could never do wrong in my eyes. They were and are my heroes.)
Delightfully Duped,
Suzanne
4/21/12
Spring Chickens
Okay, just had to add something that's been marinating in my brain.
Ella has been begging for an entire year, counting down the months even, to when we could get baby chicks. She's really, really wanted them. We decided we'd like to have the eggs as a family, so we gave in.
So finally, the Friday before Easter, we went and bought 2 chicks. And now they are twittering and pecking away only a few feet away from me, as I write this. We basically have a chicken run in our living room.
But, in spite of the slight farm smell wafting around our home, I am surprisingly enjoying these birds. Who knew that chickens had such personalities. Seriously. Austin's chicken is named Sonic, and she lives up to that name. She's a very contented bird, except she really would like to be able to follow us around the house. We've had to create new and better barriers (created from lego street pieces, no less) because if she gets bored when no one's home, she'll hop out and go wandering. And I worry, because of course you know, I'm not the cleanest of homemakers, and I don't want her to eat something bad.
She's very motherly toward Ella's bird, who is a Bantam - which basically means she's a smaller breed of chicken. Ella's bird, named Sally, is a bit of a spaz. Her first week here, she chirped loudly much of the day. She needed to be held, almost cuddled, to get her to calm down. Now she's much calmer, and will roam around. But still, if you take her out, and not Sonic, Sonic will fly out to check on her.
So after that long explanation, I'm just surprised at how much I enjoy these little birds. They really are like little companions, who are going to actually be useful when they grow up. They remind me of the birds Cam had growing up - so curious, so chatty, so into people.
In fact, I'm thinking they are going to be really disappointed when they have to go outside in a few weeks! And I may actually miss them.
Karissa
Ella has been begging for an entire year, counting down the months even, to when we could get baby chicks. She's really, really wanted them. We decided we'd like to have the eggs as a family, so we gave in.
So finally, the Friday before Easter, we went and bought 2 chicks. And now they are twittering and pecking away only a few feet away from me, as I write this. We basically have a chicken run in our living room.
But, in spite of the slight farm smell wafting around our home, I am surprisingly enjoying these birds. Who knew that chickens had such personalities. Seriously. Austin's chicken is named Sonic, and she lives up to that name. She's a very contented bird, except she really would like to be able to follow us around the house. We've had to create new and better barriers (created from lego street pieces, no less) because if she gets bored when no one's home, she'll hop out and go wandering. And I worry, because of course you know, I'm not the cleanest of homemakers, and I don't want her to eat something bad.
She's very motherly toward Ella's bird, who is a Bantam - which basically means she's a smaller breed of chicken. Ella's bird, named Sally, is a bit of a spaz. Her first week here, she chirped loudly much of the day. She needed to be held, almost cuddled, to get her to calm down. Now she's much calmer, and will roam around. But still, if you take her out, and not Sonic, Sonic will fly out to check on her.
So after that long explanation, I'm just surprised at how much I enjoy these little birds. They really are like little companions, who are going to actually be useful when they grow up. They remind me of the birds Cam had growing up - so curious, so chatty, so into people.
In fact, I'm thinking they are going to be really disappointed when they have to go outside in a few weeks! And I may actually miss them.
Karissa
Funny Uncles
Okay, so I never really was into the April Fools thing, and I never really liked the whole Easter Bunny idea. Santa I could do - but the Easter Bunny, no.
But as a kid I loved our Easter Egg hunts. We'd always get together with our cousins, and everyone would be there. Then the Dads and Uncles would go out and hide all the eggs.
Looking back on it now, I can see how much fun those guys had. As a kid, I just enjoyed doing the hunt, because they always were so creative in their hiding. But seeing them in my memory now, I can see how their eyes twinkled, and the small smiles of mischief in waiting to see if we could find their treasures.
Our Dads and Uncles, especially as we got older, really, really enjoyed hiding the eggs. They'd come up with some pretty clever spots, and try to camouflage them really well.
That's the great thing about an Easter Egg hunt. It feeds into the hider's enjoyment of being tricky. But they want you to find their treasures because it shows their cleverness. And the lookers enjoy the hunt, enjoy the journey of being the "smart" one to find the tricky ones.
In fact, I remember that many years, we'd all run out, find the eggs, then dump the candy in our baskets and beg the Dads and Uncles to hide the empty eggs again, just so we could find them again. And they usually complied, sometimes even hiding the empty eggs 2 or 3 times more.
Now, as an adult, I too enjoy hiding eggs, and I actually look forward to when my kids are a bit older, so I can get creative and clever. It's neat to have traditions that are so fun for both sides.
Karissa
But as a kid I loved our Easter Egg hunts. We'd always get together with our cousins, and everyone would be there. Then the Dads and Uncles would go out and hide all the eggs.
Looking back on it now, I can see how much fun those guys had. As a kid, I just enjoyed doing the hunt, because they always were so creative in their hiding. But seeing them in my memory now, I can see how their eyes twinkled, and the small smiles of mischief in waiting to see if we could find their treasures.
Our Dads and Uncles, especially as we got older, really, really enjoyed hiding the eggs. They'd come up with some pretty clever spots, and try to camouflage them really well.
That's the great thing about an Easter Egg hunt. It feeds into the hider's enjoyment of being tricky. But they want you to find their treasures because it shows their cleverness. And the lookers enjoy the hunt, enjoy the journey of being the "smart" one to find the tricky ones.
In fact, I remember that many years, we'd all run out, find the eggs, then dump the candy in our baskets and beg the Dads and Uncles to hide the empty eggs again, just so we could find them again. And they usually complied, sometimes even hiding the empty eggs 2 or 3 times more.
Now, as an adult, I too enjoy hiding eggs, and I actually look forward to when my kids are a bit older, so I can get creative and clever. It's neat to have traditions that are so fun for both sides.
Karissa
4/13/12
April what?
I never remember April Fools. The 2 memories I have are making orange juice from frozen concentrate and my brother thought the big clump of still frozen concentrate that I was trying to smash and dissolve was play dough and that I was playing a joke on him. He wouldn't believe me that it was actual oj.
The other one was when we told Nelleen we were pregnant our first year of marriage and she was so mad at us. Then we told her we were prego with Turner on April Fools. Yes, mean but not intentional. She didn't believe us for a long time.
But we had a fun Easter this year. I posted that on my blog.
There are about 3 or 4 posts about what we did, but mainly pictures.
The other one was when we told Nelleen we were pregnant our first year of marriage and she was so mad at us. Then we told her we were prego with Turner on April Fools. Yes, mean but not intentional. She didn't believe us for a long time.
But we had a fun Easter this year. I posted that on my blog.
There are about 3 or 4 posts about what we did, but mainly pictures.
4/12/12
No On April Fools!
When I was growing up my sister, Myra, was deathly afraid of spiders. Being young and dumb I thought I would be funny and play an April Fool's joke on her. So I told her I saw a spider sitting on her neck. The sheer terror and panic in her eyes and her dance of horror as she tried to brush the "spider" off of her body is something I still remember fifty years later. It took us quite awhile to calm her down and reassure her everything was okay. Therefore, I don't think I have ever done an April Fool's joke since and that is why I am not such a big fan of them.
Mom
When I was growing up my sister, Myra, was deathly afraid of spiders. Being young and dumb I thought I would be funny and play an April Fool's joke on her. So I told her I saw a spider sitting on her neck. The sheer terror and panic in her eyes and her dance of horror as she tried to brush the "spider" off of her body is something I still remember fifty years later. It took us quite awhile to calm her down and reassure her everything was okay. Therefore, I don't think I have ever done an April Fool's joke since and that is why I am not such a big fan of them.
Mom
April Fools, I loathe you! Easter on the other hand :)
Not a fan of April Fools tricks being played on me. In college, I had a roomie who loved April Fools more then Christmas. She put Seran Wrap on the toilet, salt on my toothpaste and my milk was green. Did I mention I'm not a fan?! :P
Easter was fantastic. That weekend was great. We did a lot of searching but HOPE we finally found a house. It's perfect for us and we're really excited. Now the waiting to close part. Nerve-wracking! That night we went to a San Antonio Rampage (ice hockey) game and sat in the Wells Fargo Suite (ooooh, ahhhh!) Sunday we went to church with David and Leslie because that's our new ward! Small world, right!?
We spent the weekend in San Antonio looking for homes and then went to David and Leslie's for the Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza! Yes, ladies and gents, 300 eggs for four kids! Daxon, a cousin from Traci's side, Kyson and Chase. Chase tried to get the kitty to hunt for eggs and couldn't care less about them for himself. The boys had a great time and Uncle/Grandpa Rick goes WAY above and beyond with the money in eggs....Kyson came out $16 richer! Wow.
The cake I made :) Found it on Pinterest, of course!
Happy Easter, Y'all
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