My Little Jedi Knights

I know I shouldn't label my children but I think this video shows the personalities of my boys pretty accurately. Nicolas is dispensing information on the force and analyzing the situation while Alexander (the one with the broken arm...and a black eye) actually believes he is Darth Mal and acts accordingly...funny how different personalities can be when coming from the same gene pool. Any other parents agree?



P.S. A random blogging question...any suggestions on where to get images from the web without infringing on copyrights?

Happy Birthday Bjorn!

Happy Birthday, Bjorn! We love you.

P.S. Happy 1st Birthday to the Utah IKEA as well...apparently anyone who has a May 23rd B-day is eligible for a $10 IKEA gift card (as long as you're willing to drive to the Utah IKEA and present a birth certificate/government i.d.) A great husband/dad plus an IKEA gift card. What more can a girl ask for?

Update on KSL Idol contest

I've been in bed half the day with sub-par health so I bailed on the KSL thing. I know, where's my dedication, right? I just thought I'd let the one or two of you know who were planning to listen to it ;).

Another Idol hopeful from Murray, UT

So I'm driving home from my parents house tonight listening to the Night Side Project on KSL talk radio when the D.J.'s announce that they will be having their own quasi-Idol contest of their own....Well, for some reason I have a weakness for these kind of local karaoke contests (Whipple Plumbing Idol at the Bees game, Orem Idol, etc...) so I dialed the number and it started ringing. At first I thought "Wow, how lucky that I got through on the first try" but then I remembered that the rest of the planet is watching the REAL American Idol finals. Needless to say, I sang my little number over the air and was invited back to compete on their show tomorrow. Now granted, the majority of earthings will be watching the American Idol finals but hey, I thought I'd put it out there if any of you (besides my parents) want to listen to/mock me. Here is the website where you can find a podcast: http://nightside.ksl.com/ or if you live in Utah it is on A.M. 1160 or F.M. 102.7. It will run from 7-10:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time tomorrow (Wednesday 5.21.08) and is dependent on my dad coming through as my babysitter :).

Goodbye Winter, Hello Summer

Is it just me or do winters seem to get longer/colder each year? Bjorn has helped us to embrace the long winters here through a lot of slope therapy. He's such a fan of Snowbird ski resort that he is the official mascot of the place (see family picture). Between that and his military discount he practically skis for free ;). Here are a few skiing pictures/videos:

Nicolas

Alexander and Bjorn

Nicolas skiing

Alexander skiing

Here's Alexander on his first ski day. Ahh, what a difference a couple of years and instruction by a non-parent type makes.

P.S. In case you were wondering, that's not really Bjorn in the Snowbird outfit, though perhaps he should tryout for next year...he might do it for a free season pass.

Will You Maui Me?

The following story is based on actual events that occured in March of 2008:

Once upon a time, a weary mother of three laid her head on the couch after a long week of diapering, carpooling, homeworking, cleaning (well, not so much of that...), etc., etc... She soon drifted off to sleep when out of nowhere appeared a great-looking guy that said, "Hey, do you want to go to Hawaii with me...in three days?" And that's how it all began...to go, or not to go?

Suddenly I had a practical devil/angel (you choose) on one shoulder and a spontaneous, fun, "why on earth not?" devil/angel on the other....there was a lot going on the next week--a doctor apointment that takes three months to schedule, a birthday party to go to where really good food/company would be found, and last (but not necessarily least), a neighborhood Karaoke Idol contest that I was itching to participate in. In the end, I decided that it's just wrong to refuse an offer to go to Hawaii. We hired a "manny" (my good sport father-in-law, Bob) to come along to "help out with the kids" (code for Bjorn and I want to surf, snorkel, go out to eat, etc...) Thanks, Bob!

A few highlights from our stay...We spent a lot of time at the beach (a pebble's throw from our condo if you're one of the Manning brothers); took surfing lessons (me and Bjorn) and would HIGHLY recommend it; snorkeled (Alexander wanted to know why Heavenly Father put so much salt in the water...he got a few gulps of the ocean); went whale watching and saw other neat sea creatures at the local aquarium; celebrated Elise's first birthday at a luau; drove to the top of a volcano (Alexander lost his lunch on that trip); drove "The Road to Hana"...lush, gorgeous ocean views on a windy, sometimes one-laned "hope-the-person-around-the-corner-honks-so-I-don't-drive-off-the-cliff" highway--Nicolas lost his lunch on that trip. Mostly, it was a lovely trip with beautiful weather, gorgeous views, and great family times.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

P.S. Thanks to Hil for sprucing up my blog and helping with the slideshow ;)

The Jazz Singer (and I don't mean Neil Diamond)

Bjorn and I went on a very last minute date to the Jazz/Lakers game tonight (purchased tickets on Craig's List at about 4:45, found a babysitter at 5:00, left around 6:00, and arrived just in time to see Mr. Hometown Hero in the flesh--David Archuleta--sing the National Anthem.) Awesome game! Here's a little clip from D.A.'s song:

P.S. For those not raised by Neil Diamon fans, he was in a movie called "The Jazz Singer" in 1980.

Alexander's Broken Arm

Who knew that casts came in hi-lighter yellow color? Unfortunately, we now do (along with anyone who comes within 100 yards of Alexander). Our little evil kanevil boy has finally broken a bone. We' ve often joked that we should just put a helmet on him 24/7 and perhaps a little bubble wrap. For those who don't know, he managed to fall off the trampoline in the small window of time between setting it up and putting the netting on (about 24 hours). I should have known better as the little guy is a magnet for injury. I've since learned that with most couples, there is usually one who opposes owning a trampoline and one who wants one. I've heard a lot of "Don't tell my husband/wife how he broke his arm." Of course Bjorn was the one that opposed the idea (for fear of bodily harm) but eventually gave in. Thankfully he's not the "I told you so type" because I felt pretty bad already

We're finally bloggers!!!!

We're jumping on the blog wagon!... considering the fact that I write in my journal approximately once a year, I've decided that perhaps, this might be the wave of my journaling future. So...our little family consists of me (Cydnee), Bjorn, Nicolas (7), Alexander (5), and Elise (1). I'll write more in the days to come...