Grab The French Fries Ya'll....

It's Ketchup time!

Yes- I have been MIA for a while, but due to popular demand... I AM BACK!!! At least for tonight. :P

I have a wierd thing about posting things sorta in order, so I need to go back. Scroll down if you want to know what we've been up to!

I Get By With A little Help From my... Sisters.

Ok- I can't stop laughing. Sometimes there are things that you just don't think people will do. And then you remember that they are your sisters, and of course they will. Oh what a funny, funny thing to do! I can't believe they BOTH posted for me, on MY BLOG!! I think that's kinda like wearing my clothes without asking, isn't it? I mean, I did give Nikki my password so she could see that I did blog (on my family reunion blog) but I forgot that she doesn't believe in secrets. What would I do without my sisters? Actually, I could get used to this. I could just sit back and SEE what they come up with about my life. Ok, yeah. Never mind. I will be changing my password. I know that right now Nikki is posting comments from me all over the web. And wait- is that MY name that is signed up for "Pink Christmas?!?"


That really was sweet of you guys. It almost seemed like a birthday surprise, only better because it is just plain old Tuesday, July 29th. :)


Besides, I was gone doing this today....

Ok, Ok.... I'm back.....

Blog Jacked jr.

Hi Sunny here!

I don't believe Holly anymore when she says that she's going to blog so I figured if Nikki had the password she'd surely give it to me too. And she did!

For those who don't know me, I'm Holly's little sister Sunny. You don't know me like you know Nikki because my blog is private but if you want to come and see just email me at sunnytangren@hotmail.com I'd be HAPPY to invite you. :)

I was tagged not to long ago to tell 6 quirky things about myself. And since I'm Holly today I'll tell you 6 of the quirkiest things about Holly.



1. When Holly was growing up she needed everything brand name. She couldn't even be SEEN in Kmart much less BUY anything there and now she is one of the most militant bargain shoppers I know. And that's saying something because I'M pretty frugal myself. In fact she's even been known to demand her money back from the Salvation Army because she paid too much.

2. Holly LOVES to dance as we all do. Yet like every one of us she married a non dancer. The first time she danced with her husband was at MY wedding. What about their wedding you ask. Well, that would be ME who danced with her husband at that event. I'd just gotten back from Ricks and had been country dancing a few times and Nathan and I country danced. That's right everyone NATHAN COUNTRY DANCES.

I couldn't let Nikki post all of the embarrassing pictures. I took this on the sly when they were out here to visit me in 2003. This was taken at This is the Place heritage park.

3. When we were asked as children where we wanted to get married Holly said she wanted to get married in Tokyo or Hawaii. Anywhere exotic. And where did she get married? The very exotic Chicago, our local temple at the time. THAT is a story all on it's own. They had one chaotic event after another. You can be sure that I got my marriage license well in advance when I got married in the same state. Can you guess where she went on her honeymoon?

4. I was a pretty steady part of Holly and Nathan's courtship and early marriage. I talked to Nathan at some length when he was dating Holly. He asked me if she talked about him and if she liked him. I let him know how my sister was. And he still stuck around! :) I helped Nathan make their bed ( that I hear is now a swing set ) and Holly once asked me to call Nathan when we'd been shopping too long to let him know that she would be home soon and asked me to calm him down so that she wouldn't get in trouble when she got home. I was still talking to him when she got home and he just smiled at her when she walked in.


5. Holly never wanted to get married MUCH LESS have kids growing up ( ok so maybe not NEVER). So when I'd gotten off the mission and the thought of marriage sounded like prison and slavery she was the one I asked if she liked it. By the end of the conversation I was in tears, and obviously now married. The same went for children.



6. She gets headaches when she sees anything Sci-fi. Is that not the wierdest thing ever? Why does she get headaches? Is it for real or does she just want a reason to not watch it. And what is it about sci fi she doesn't like? She says it's the wierd skin that some people have. Is that really the reason? Should she be examined to see if there is a blaster in her head?!?

Yes we are the ones who "corrupted" her children. We don't apologize. We even got them addicted to video games too.

That was fun being Holly. I spent a good deal of time in my childhood pretending I was Holly and now I got to do it for real...kind of.

We (Heart) NY Again

One of my favorite NEW traditions is going to visit my sister & her family during the beginning of summertime. They really know how to show us a good time, and we always leave wanting more. Which luckily for us is the second part of the tradition. They follow us home shortly after we are there!

As always the trip is filled with many calls back and forth between adults and kids alike, "Did you leave yet? Where are you? When will you be here?" This year we left at 7am RIGHT after Nathan got off of work because if he hit the bed, there would be no getting him up again for a good long while. Especially after the kind of weekend he had with an influx of 40,000 people near the small town he works in. We won't go there, just suffice it to say that he was a saint for jumping in the car instead of jumping into bed.

The closer we got, the more frequent the calls became. Throughout the trip we kept joking with the Garrick kids that one of the kids forgot something so we had to go home and get it. When we were within a few minutes, Jillie & Reagan were BEGGING us to tell them where we were, but we wouldn't. We secretly drove around their block and dropped Saroya & Ethan off. They ran in the Garrick's backyard and jumped on the swings. We called them and said, "Geesh! Now we can't find Saroya or Ethan. Are they at your house? They really like the swings, could you check yours?" When we heard the scream, we knew they were found.


First up was a quick dip in the pool to refresh our tired bodies. Nikki shamelessly posted a picture from that already, but to prevent any more exposure, I will post this harmless one instead.

Then it was a quick trip to "Terabithia" for skipping rocks
catching "snakes",


and walking in the water.
The next day we just hung around the house making sure the kids had plenty of time to get ready for their performance (a variety show they do for us every year), swim, and have fun. Nathan led the kids in different water games including one that stuck, dodge ball.

By the end of the day, the kids were fried! (oops, sunscreen wha??) We were entertained by the kids' show and Greg's firework display as we relaxed and had fun.


On Wed morning, we waited to let a storm pass, then we jumped in the car and headed for an Amusement Park called Darien Lake. (Thanks Greg!!) It was the perfect day with perfect weather.

Oh, we all had soo much fun! Nathan and Jackson were best buds from the get-go

which meant Nikki & I got to be best buds too! (This is us taking a self-portrait while on a "drive")

Jaleigh couldn't have been happier on EVERY ride! She was so happy to be at "Michigan Adventure" and Jackson was loving "Disneyland". Call it what you want, we all had fun.

They had the coolest roller coaster I have ever seen there. It's an OCChoppers coaster, and you are literaly strapped into a "motorcycle" while you zip around this roller coaster. It was so much fun, and such a unique idea I thought.
Yes, yes it was all fun until the end. I had a screaming headache and "lost it" in a ziploc bag full of candy on the way home. I didn't notice the significance of the picture above of Kobe & Saroya until the next morning when she woke up and her whole knee was swollen from an infection in a cut.

Instead of rushing off to Palmyra for the pageant like we had planned, Nathan took Saroya to the ER and waited to get some antibiotics for her to get started on. (Bless you, honey) They didn't touch it, poke it, drain it, put a band-aid on it or even put them in a room! Nathan said it was more like a supply closet. They just looked at it and said, "Yup, it's infected. I will write you a prescription" That was $50.00 and 5 hours later thank you very much! Wha??....

The other kids were so worried about her having to go to the ER on vacation (which ironically happened to Jaleigh last year too! NOT a tradition I would like to continue) the jumped right on it and started making banners and certificates for her so when she got home she would be happy. It was soo sweet, and it DID make her feel better.

I love that they gave her a "Certificate of Achievement" for going to the ER in NY.. :)

Then FINALLY everyone put their headphones on (and a sucker in their mouth, apparently) turned on a movie, and we were off!

We got there just in time to see some actors walking around to get a quick picture and get set up. (We eat VERY well during the performance... another tradition.)

The pageant was amazing as usual and the kids were enthralled. They LOVE it!

On Friday we decided to head out to make room and time

for Greg's mom & nephew. We found a few stowaways before

we left, but we promised that we would see them again soon!

Garricks- thanks sooo much for having us.   

We made great memories and can't wait to do it again!

                  

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BLOG JACKED!!!

Nikki here...

Since Holly still hasn't gotten around to blogging, I guess I'll just have to post lots of embarrassing pictures of her... (hee, hee!)

OK, so those really weren't embarrassing, especially the last one. She is busy preparing for a huge influx of Averys in the coming weeks... but she PROMISED a post tonight.

We shall see...

:)

Sorry for the Delay...

We've been vacationing and enjoying our new "Summer Home". Back to blogging soon! :)

Happy Birthday Jaleigh!!

Yesterday we were in Kirtland, OH doing some sight seeing. When our guide asked Jaleigh how old she was turning, she said "14" very matter of factly and without hesitation. Sometimes it seems like she really is 14, but she is just a very confident, VERY girly 4 year old.

She is exactly the kind of girl I was afraid to have. 110% girl. Now that I have her, I am so glad I have just that girl! I LOVE to see her in pink, purple, frills, tiaras, gowns, and wings (even when it is cheering her brother on at the pinewood derby.) I love that when I say, "Time to get dressed" she think it means "Lets put on a dress" and she runs right for the closet.

I remember that day 4 years ago when I was absolutely DONE being pregnant but you weren't wanting to come. From the first contraction, to you being born was a mere 1 1/2 hours, but YEOOOWCH!!! What a 90 minutes that was! My only baby born without any pain meds (and no- I am not proud of that. I would have much preferred a fully medicated birthing experience :D) and you have been teaching me new ways of doing things ever since.

You love to play Peek-A-Boo with Grandpa Old Ears.

You are SUPER sad when you have to wear "farmer pants".

You love to have your hair done by Saroya.

You are exactly like me in some ways...You love princesses wherever you can find them.

You are brave.

You always find pretty flowers to bring your momma .

Words can not express the sheer joy hand happiness you always bring into our lives. I am so glad that you are still little, even though you tell me that you are getting soo big every day. Stay sweet and all girl. I adore you little Miss J. Happy 4th Birthday!

The 4th & 35th

What a great 4th of July we have had! We did a lot of the things that have become tradition (including showing up for the parade JUST as it starts but getting a front row seat anyway!) and celebrating my wonderful husband's birthday, but this year he did NOT have to work! Hurray for miracles!

I'll never ever get tired of seeing that smile! :)

Since the weather was PERFECT (mid 70's with low humidity), but not perfect for the beach, Nathan thought a hike would be fun and we knew just where to go.

The hike started out great. The kids led the way and were very excited.

Grandpa made sure everyone had a good walking stick that wanted one. The bugs were pretty intense, but we were all sprayed up so we didn't get any bites (that I know of..) Jaleigh said, "Man! All this bugs want to get me because I am so CUTE!" (Do you think she meant "sweet"?)

Before long, the terrain became a little more steep, but everyone did good. Jaleigh said, "Oh this is the running hill" and preceded to run up!

After a while my mom says- "Ok... THIS is not a trail!! Where are we?!?! What about the paved trail you like so much and there is cute little ice cream shop a long it??" Hang in there Mom, almost there!
Finally the lake!! I said, "Is there any better way to get to the beach?" My Mom says, "I can think of a few better ways.." But we were there at last and it was a beautiful sight, and a beautiful day. We had packed plenty of drinks and snacks (Thanks Mom & Dad!) so we sat a long the shoreline and watched the kids who couldn't stay out of the water. When they finally DID get out, they were so cold they had to huddle together to share body heat. Cute!

And of course we ended the night with dinner out and then the big fireworks display. I did not bring my camera to that event, which was kind of interesting. For the first time, I watched people around me. EVERYONE had a camera or cell phone in front of their faces trying to get a good shot of the show. In my mind I was like, um... you are missing the show! Anyway- it won't stop me from bringing it in the future, but instead of the BIG show, I have pictures of the Avery show that happened the night before the BIG show.

Now for the 35 reasons I love you Nathan!

You are a "real live Yankee Doodle Dandy".

You don't need big gifts to be happy (although I am sure you wouldn't mind....)

You love camping like me.

You like exercise.

You are a great cubmaster. (Good thing too, because now I am your BOSS!)

You couldn't be more happy that your family is coming out soon.

You like Grilled Cheese sandwiches with honey.

You make famous Mac & Cheese.

You happily let me have GNO's.

You allow each one of the kids to melt your heart.

You are a good provider for our family.

You are good at you job and I love going there to hear everyone brag about you.

You know how to fix almost everything.

You will always be older than me.

You bust up the kids when you play with them, but you know how to fix them...

You made breakfast for the family on YOUR birthday while we were sleeping.

You like to surprise me.

You are not easily surprised.

Everyone loves you. At Saroya & Jaleigh's gymnastics show everyone in the building got a "X" on their hand except for you...

You can make anything out of anything (more to come in future blog...)

You "won" my parents piano by plunking out a song we didn't know you knew.

You are personally absolutely committed to the gospel.

You look for ways to improve our family's spirituality.

You love family trips.

You LOVE growing things and your trees are like your other children.

You can wear shoes without socks. (I can't comprehend this!)

You are SMOKIN' hot!

You love, love, love the beach.

You don't like many sweets except chocolate and peanut butter.

You make the best pancake syrup.

You are a dare-devil.

You love bleach & Pine-sol.

You love watching TV shows about nature.

You are happiest when you are with family.

You take better pictures than me and give me sound advice on my pictures.

You love singing & drawing but don't do them NEAR enough.

WHOA! I can't be done yet! Ok- well, you are still my best friend, Ethan's Hero, Jaleigh's King, and as Saroya put it in a recent letter to you, "Throu all the fathers I can find you are the greatest of them all! I am so glad that you are my speshel dad."

I love you 35 times a million. Happy Birthday Babe!