It Literally Felt Like Christmas!

For about 5 minutes. We were lucky enough to be able to snag the Ambassadors house up in Puncak for the weekend before Christmas. We invited our friends, the Beerman's to come up with us. We had been told it is actually quite 'cool' (literally and figuratively), but we really weren't sure what to expect. On the way up the fog had settled in near the upper part of the mountain, and at one point I rolled down the window and exclaimed "It's COLD!" We then proceeded to roll down all the windows and blare our Christmas music. The people who live up on the mountain are always burning fires to stay warm and so it smelled Christmasy too! The kids were like "it's cold! Can we roll up the windows now?!" and Tanner and I were like "No way, this is the closest it is going to get to winter right now so we are going to enjoy it!"

It was actually very beautiful up there and we just had a blast staying up late playing games with friends and have the air be cool and clean outside! We also did another trip to Taman Safari since all of us can't really seem to get enough of the place. I only wish I had pictures to share but our camera broke in Bali on the last day so we didn't have one. It was a perfect little getaway just before Christmas.

Decorating for Christmas

When you live in 90 degree weather year round, it is a little more difficult to get into the Christmas spirit. But after we returned from Bali, I was determined to get our Christmas stuff out so it would at least feel like Christmas...inside. My friend Kelly came back with us to have more dental work done, and we did so much in a week! How can it NOT feel like Christmas with this cutie around trying to eat the light bulbs?

Clark's Progress Report

We have been really happy with Clark's school and he is doing great. They had their first progress report the end of November and I was totally shocked when I saw how extensive the report was. It was 5 pages of Socialization, Language, Sensorial, Math, Computer, Pre-writing/writing, Art, Manipulations, Music, Practical Life, Physical Education, Science, and Social Science evaluations. It was awesome and I can only imagine how long it took his teacher to fill this thing out for each of her 10 kids. They pretty much have Clark pegged, which is no surprise since what you see is what you get with Clark. There is no wondering or guessing about what is going on in his head because he just lays it all out there for ya. I enjoyed the comments made by his teacher, who is Indonesian. My random thoughts and comments are in parentheses:

Clark is an active child (ya think?). Academically he is a good and a fast learner, for example when he was taught about math for addition and place value, the teacher just taught him twice and Clark quickly understood it. Clark has very good memory ability (yeah like he always remembers when I last got mad about something...awesome). He often thinks rationally, if there is something that he thinks is irrational, he will protest against it (Mom, I should only have to go to bed if I am tired...and I'm not). For example, one of his friends said that he was a spider, and for Clark it is nonsense so he told his friend that he was not a spider and this caused a quarrel. (Is it bad that I actually think Clark was just picking a fight with this kid? Clark does imaginative play ALL the time, so I am not quite sure what that is about, although I do think Clark generally thinks pretty rationally...gets it from his dad). Clark is not able to accept being defeated in a game or activity (gets it from his Mom...sorry). He does not want to get the role of the antagonist in a drama class i.e. Troll in the Bill Goats Gruff. (Dude, I'm with Clark. Who wants to be the troll yo?) These disappointments will cause anger and tears. We're working with him on handling disappointments. (We just tell him to man up at home. Is that....not...good?) Clark is basically a good child at heart (Yes, yes he is...shhh...he gets it from his mom ;-), he can make Rebecca laugh by making funny faces to her and he makes her happy (gets it from his dad).

(Rebecca is a girl in his class who has downs syndrome.)

I have started teaching Clark to read, and the teachers at school suggested putting him in an after school class that will help him learn since they felt he was really ready for it and I declined because I just really want to be the one to teach my child how to read. We have a great time with it and he is doing really well. I don't worry at all about him academically starting school next year. For Clark it will always be the socialization aspect that we will have to keep an eye on. He is so full of life and fun, but it can be a little (or a lot) 'in your face' at times (I have no idea where he gets that from ;-). But the teachers say all the kids get along great now after the first month or two adjustment period.

Clark also had his end of year school play the beginning of December. It wasn't Christmas themed, but it was darling and the kids were all super cute. Clark got to play a bird and the human king (there was a bird king too). I also got pegged by the teachers to be a part of a traditional Indonesian welcome dance that three of the teachers were going to perform at the beginning of the performance. It was actually a lot of fun, and my neighbor video taped the whole thing and then proceeded to show it to half my neighbors, without me being there and not ever having seen it. Nice eh? I am still trying to get a copy from her and if I do, I will have to view it first before I decide whether I want it on the blog!

Bali Round Up

The last days in Bali were spent on the beach and in the pool and taking rides on the motorbikes around the area. Tanner was in charge of getting Audrey dressed in her swimsuit one morning and he brought her to me and said "Could this be right?"

(yeah, maybe if she was a wrestler!)

Sunday was Clark's birthday so we had to do a little celebrating. We had seen a Bakery near our Villa so we stopped in on Saturday to see if we could order a cake for him. They had amazing Batman cake toppers so we scored pretty big on that account. However, the actual cake tasted like moth balls, but Clark didn't seem to care since he just loved the Batman part of it all. The funny story about all this is that we had to transport this cake on the motorbikes. Kelly and I were out together but on separate motorbikes. We tried to wedge it between me and the front of the bike, but the second I tried to move, the cake fell and we thought we had completely ruined it. Luckily the frosting just smeared in a few places and we decided we had to leave one of the bikes there and go together on one and wedge the cake between the two of us and that worked. We must have been quite the site to everyone as we were busy trying to figure this all out! The beach was great, and in case you were wondering how a family of five can fit on a motorbike.....

Bali: Day 4

We decided to take a little more of an adventure on Day 4 and go to an elephant safari park. The traffic was bad and our driver didn't know where he was going, so it was a little rough getting there, but once we got there it was fun!

Tanner took the boys on their ride while I chilled with Audrey and took pictures. When they got on the elephant the guide said "This elephant's name is Andrew." The boys loved it! Clark was like "Andrew! That's just like you Andrew!" and Andrew would say "Yeah, that's my name!" They had a blast and the elephants did some pretty great tricks. Afterward, we also got to see some snakes up close and personal, and Tanner got this hilarious video of Andrew unknowingly standing under the snake box. Cue a ridiculous amount of pictures and don't forget to catch the video at the end!

You look like a yummy peanut to eat!

Bali: Day 3

Friday was spent all day on Seminyak/Kuta beach and poolside at the Villa. It took a little while for us to get to the beach even though it wasn't too far away. We just can't seem to get away from Jakarta traffic! Later we decided we should rent some mopeds, as it might be a little easier getting around. The only question now was how to get a family of 5 on one moped? The kids had a blast in the sand, water, and waves.

Bali: Day 2

We got a slow start on day 2, which was perfectly fine with all of us. The kids went for a morning swim and then we all piled in the car and headed out to lunch at Bali Cafe in downtown Seminyak.

The food was good and the decor in the restaurant was really cool.

After lunch, the (big) boys agreed to take the kids back to the Villa for naps so Kelly and I could get in some much desired shopping time! Of course, it also started to rain as we were leaving, but Kelly and I were undeterred. We went in this store called Kids-A-Go-Go, and we found the cutest stuff to decorate our girls' rooms. We also found some other adorable little girl boutiques. It was a lot of fun, and after we came home, we got in some pool time before we headed out for our Thanksgiving Dinner...which was pretty much anything but. We wanted to see if we could get tickets for Harry Potter at a mall, but they were all sold out. But while we were there we saw a Planet Hollywood and decided it might be a decent and easy place for dinner. The kids had a great time, but the food was awful, and I mean awful. At least we got to see a male Indonesian Cowboy band. Yeah, it was awesome. Won't be going back there on any future trips to Bali, but at least we all got ice cream on the way home!

My 2010 Thanksgiving BAG:

Blessing: Delivering a healthy baby and having no post delivery complications!

Accomplishment: Moving to Jakarta 8 weeks after delivery and staying sane (most of the time)

Goals for 2011: Learning the Indonesian language, spending more quality time with hubby and kids, and travel, travel, travel!

Thanksgiving in Bali Part 1

We were so excited to meet our friends, the Crawfords, in Bali for Thanksgiving. The Crawfords were in law school with us and work for the State Department as well. They are currently posted in Dili, East Timor.

We have lived in Jakarta for 6 months and we felt this break was coming at the perfect time. Life has gotten pretty busy now that we are settled (funny how that happens!). Tanner is the Elder's Quorum President in the Branch and I was recently called a counselor in the Primary Presidency. There just seems to be a lot going on all the time, and we were looking forward to a vacation. We were so excited, we were all a little bit giddy and silly while waiting for our plane!

We just wanted to hurry up and get there so we could RELAX!

The Crawfords got there a little bit before us and gave us the grand tour of the place. The villa was great! It had 2 master bedrooms and 2 regular rooms each one for our boys to share. In the middle was a huge outdoor living room area with a dining room and couches and chairs. It was surrounded by water with fishes swimming in it. We also had our own private pool, which, while it made us very nervous having an open pool with 6 kids under the age of 5 running around, we were very vigilant and we loved loved loved having it. The first night was spent catching up with the Crawfords and just vegging out. See these amazing pictures that Kelly took the day we arrived. Yeah, I know....she's an awesome photographer! The boys immediately took to each other again and ran around in all kinds of superhero costumes throughout the night.

Istiqlal Mosque

We have decided to take greater advantage of the weekends and do some touring around the city as a family. One of the first stops we knew we had to make was at Istiqlal Mosque. It is the largest mosque in Asia, which you can read more about here! We weren't there very long, but it was definitely just an interesting visit just to see it. It was HUGE!

I think one of the most interesting things I saw was when we actually walked out of the mosque. As you exit and look up, right across the street on the other side was this:

That about sums up Jakarta. While this is the most Muslim populated country in the world, it is also very diverse, and I appreciate the fact that Indonesia's National Motto is "Unity in Diversity."

Giggles

Clark is such an entertaining oldest brother. Andrew is exactly 7 months old in the first video and Audrey is exactly 7 1/2 months in the second.

Vonage Visual Voicemail

It's that time again ladies and gents for another round of Vonage Visual Voicemails (applause!). Once again the award for BEST Vonage Visual Voicemail goes to Melanie and she also gets the award for leaving the most voicemails. Thanks bro!

November 5th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie

Real Voicemail: "Chez it's your sister Mel, caaaaallll me! Bye."

Emailed Transcription: "Sharon it's your sister Ma, call call me when"

October 13th, 2010

Partial Voicemail left by Corbin from Capital One

Real Voicemail: "This is Corbin from Capital One Fraud Protection with an important message for Cheryl Nelson and we need to verify some potentially suspicious activity on your account ending in 0195"

Emailed Transcription: "This is Corwin from capital one of trucks catching up. I'm problem, important message for Cheryl Nelson need to verify some potentially suspicious activity on your account ending in 0195"

October 12th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie

Real Voicemail: "The machine is still on Moira. You're gonna wanna call me back dude. Bye."

Emailed Transcription: "The machine is still on Moira. You're gonna want to call me back. You know. Bye."

(This one gets a shout out for two reasons. First, the reason she called was AWESOME! (See my sister's bloggity blog) and second, if there is anyone besides my immediate family who can name the movie that the quote "The machine is still on Moira" is from, you will get some serious kudos from moi. No cheating--which includes googling the quote or any other usage of the internet to find the answer.)

October 10th, 2010

Voicemail left my Jenn B.

Real Voicemail: "Hey Cher, it's Jenn. Just calling to say hi. Hope you're doing good. Anyway sorry, just checking in but I will talk to you another time. See you. Bye"

Emailed Transcription: "Hey Sharon, it's Jen. Just calling to say hi. Hope you're doing good. Anyway sorry, Chuck but I will talk to you another time. See you . Bye"

October 8th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie (FYI...She lives in Southern California where they were having record heat)

Real Voicemail: "Dude it's Mel and Dad here. We have a question about mom's hair. Call us back if you're still awake. Bye."

Emailed Transcription: "Dude it's snowing bad here. We have a question about mom's hair. Call us back if you're still awake. Bye"

October 3rd, 2010

Voicemail left by Brianna

Real Voicemail: "Hi Chezzie, it's me. Just calling to let you know that I got my patriarchal blessing and you're the first sister I called."

Emailed Transcription: "Hi Jessie, it's me. Just calling to let you know that I got my pay check a bus and you're the first sister I called."

(included for two great reasons also. The first is obvious, "patriarchal blessing" = "pay check a bus" and second, I was the FIRST sister she called...just wanted to let you all know. oooohhhh BURN! ;-) )

September 29th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie

Real Voicemail: "Hey it's your sister and that was kinda messed up. You never called again."

Emailed Transcription: "Hey it's your sister and kinda messed up. They never call and in"

September 23rd, 2010

Voicemail left by my Mom

Real Voicemail: "Hi Cherylyn it's Mom. Talk to you later"

Emailed Transcription: "Hi Sheldon Smith. Talk to you later"

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO.....

November 15th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie

Real Voicemail: "I just finished unpacking all the stuff dude, it's awesome. I'm feeling a lot of love for you right now dude. So just calling to say hi and thanks. Alright well, I'll be up for a little while if you wanna call me back. Bye."

Emailed Transcription: "Hi just finished unpacking all that stuff too and it's awesome. I'm feeling a lot of love for you right now dude. So just calling to say hi and thanks alright love me up for little while if you wanna call me back. Bye"

Obama Visit

Okay so this was Obama's THIRD try at coming out to Indonesia. The first attempt was back in March. He didn't show because he was trying to get the health care bill passed. Good thing he stayed right?!! ;-) The second time he was slated to come was in June and was the reason we rushed like crazy to get out here instead of when we were slated to come in July. But then some tiny little oil spill happened in the gulf, and then it turned out not to be so tiny, so the second visit got axed. The third visit was looking promising until the earth started to shake, tsunami's crashed ashore, and oh a volcano decided to erupt...numerous times. It has all been very sad to watch and read the local news reports here. It feels like we are so far away from where everything is happening because we haven't been directly affected, but we're not so very far. Anyway, it was touch and go there for a while, even up until the day before he came. Everyone at the embassy was crazy busy coordinating with Secret Service and there were lots of late nights leading up to the visit. They had planned a meet and greet with the President and the First Lady for the embassy staffers and families, but I wasn't sure if I was going to go because of stupid logistical reasons and not to mention my own political affiliations. BUT, we decided it was really a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the President of the United States up close and personal in the flesh so we decided to go. We had to wake up at 5am but other than that, there were no real inconveniences to be had. Everyone waited in a ballroom at the hotel and then the President and First Lady came out, and he spoke a few words and then came down to shake hands.

I'm not gonna lie, it was a little surreal at first, but then as he was speaking I was just thinking about how he is just a man who holds a very important position of power, but he is just a flawed, imperfect man like the rest of us. And frankly, I feel kinda bad for him. He's had a rough couple of years, and while everyone can argue all day long about whether or not he brought it upon himself (he did), he still has to be a husband and father while also at times feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders more than any of the rest of us ever will. So while Barack and I have a lot of 'issues' between us :-), he does deserve some respect if for no other reason than for the office he holds. It's a lot easier throwing rocks when you've never actually seen or met a person, but when they are suddenly very real and right in front of your face...it's a little bit humbling. I for one am glad to have had the experience just for the sake of the perspective it provided for me personally.

(just look at the looks on those kids' faces...super adorable)

Marine Ball

So we have had a few busy weeks here in Indonesia! One of the things I have most been looking forward to since we joined the State Department was the opportunity to go to some fun parties and more specifically the Marine Ball which is held every year around the time of the Marine Corps birthday. It is a pretty swanky affair, and Tanner and I decided we definitely wanted to go. I also was hoping to have a dress made for me so I wouldn't have to deal as much with the disappointment of going dress shopping only to realize (again) that there is almost nothing that is cute and modest. We have this awesome fabric section of town called Mayestic which is a bunch of stores that sell tons and tons of fabric. I looked on the internet and found a style that I liked, and then went to Mayestic to do some fabric shopping. I learned a lot about how you can't just make any dress with any fabric, so I had to make sure I chose the right one for the design I wanted. I ended up wanting silk and there are actually a ton of different kinds to choose from. I had narrowed it down between a few and nothing was 'just right'. Then the old man helping me said he had something else and returned with the perfect one. I asked what kind of silk it was and he just showed me the edge of the fabric and it said "Pure Silk by Valentino, Made in Italy". Okay, so I am not totally sure if it's THE Valentino, but regardless, the fabric was awesome and I bought it.

So now the trick was to find a tailor who could actually make an evening gown out of it. I was having a hard time finding one that could do it in the time frame I needed, and then the same old guy said he would take me to a place just outside mayestik. Great! So I go in this tailor shop and the head woman did not speak a lick of English. I was with my friend who speaks better than me and we did okay trying to explain what I wanted, but it all happened super fast, and it felt like she barely took any measurements. I was kind of freaking out about it later, but in the end I figured I just needed to look at it like a new and fun experience.

Fast forward two weeks, and I go in for the first fitting. They hadn't quite finished it, but they had done all the pleating and I was shocked and amazed at how great they had copied the picture I had given them. I had to go back a few more times and even though I still think I need to get it taken in just a smidge, I thought it turned out great and loved it! Also, they did forget to do a cap sleeve underneath, but luckily I was able to channel my inner Tim Gunn and "make it work!". The day of the ball, I went and got my hair and makeup done and totally freaked out when she went to put on fake eyelashes. I was straight up NOT going to let her put those things on. My awesome hairstylist Roberto asked me to just try it and they could always take them off later. By the end of the make up session I totally wanted to keep them. That was a first for me. We were running a little late, and I got home, threw on my dress, and we headed out to......TRAFFIC.
It took us an hour and half to go about 5 miles. We thought we were going to be super late, but the good thing was everyone was late, so it was all good.

We had a great time. The ceremony at the beginning was very nice. The birthday cake was ginormous, and I thought it was cool that they cut the first piece with a huge saber knife. Then they serve the first pieces to the oldest and youngest Marine in attendance. I just thought they were all very cool traditions. The other awesome thing is that they had very cool ice sculptures around the room.

Anyway, after a yummy dinner, they started the dancing and Tanner and I had a blast. We both love to dance and it felt like we were back in college again at one of our friend's dance parties. We realized we hadn't really gone dancing together since we have had kids which is a shame because we both love it. A definite highlight of the night was seeing a female Marine guard get up on the stage and do Beyonce's exact routine to "Single Ladies"....

in her Marine guard uniform....

with her senior officer looking on from afar no less. It doesn't get any better than that peeps. She rocked the house, and the crowd went wild. Happy 235th Birthday United States Marine Corps!

6 Months...err 7 months!

We can't believe how time is flying by and how old our baby girl is already. At her 6 month well baby visit she was in the 50th percentile for weight (thanks to mommy's milk shakes), and 10th percentile for height. She sleeps great, usually goes down between 5pm and 7pm and sleeps until 4:30am when she wakes up with the rest of the Muslim population of Indonesia for morning prayers. It is like clockwork so I think she must hear the call to prayer from the mosque down the street. She has an early breakfast and then goes back down for a snooze until 6:30am or 7am when the boys wake up and then it just becomes a losing battle for all of us (me, tanner, and audrey) to try to get some shut eye with those boys whooping and hollering throughout the house.

She will roll across the room, and is doing the rocking back and forth thing on her knees with her little bottom in the air, but mostly she just ends up on her tummy boogie boarding on the carpet. She laughs when we play peek a boo and yells really loud when I try to get her to say Ma Ma (not sure what that means, but hopefully she is actually trying out her voice, rather than actually yelling at me...otherwise, we are in for a rough road ahead together ;-) )

Last week, she started to eat solids. I hate starting solids...so messy. Nursing...so clean and easy. But we realized after numerous nights of her sitting in her Bumbo at the end of the table yelling at us and reaching for any food that might be within her grasp that maybe she might want a taste of something different. Indonesians start their babies on solids really early, and anyone who has asked think I am lying when I tell them she is that gundut (chubby) from just breast milk.

She looks like Clark and makes faces like Andrew. We call her Audrey, Audi, Clarkina (thanks Trish--all the teachers at Clark's school call her that now), Pinky (okay, I admit it, she wears a lot...A LOT of pink), and Gundut (see above and pronounce like Goon-doot). I also like Lucu (pronounced Loochoo). It means cute and funny. Gundut and Lucu were two of the first words I learned in Indonesian because that is what every stranger who sees her says to me...and they do this while squeezing her cheeks together and some just full on take her away from me and hold her. Every once in a while I get someone who looks like they are looking or talking in a disapproving way, and it was really disconcerting at first, but now I know that it is when she is sucking on her left fist. It is a big No No in Indonesia to use your left hand for anything...it is considered unclean (Islam). Some strangers full on will try to pry her hand out of her mouth, and it cracks me up because there is NO WAY that fist is going to come out once it is in there. So they struggle for a minute and then give up and walk away muttering. I think it is funny, after all I am a lefty.

Our favorite game to play with her right now is "The Falling Audrey Game!" We all sit around on the bed, and sit her upright in the middle...and we wait...for her to topple over to one side or the other. She can sit up, but it only lasts for a little bit and inevitably she decides to reach out to one of us surrounding her and she topples over. The boys think it is the funniest thing EVER! We will get it on video here soon. Everyone loves her, and sometimes our driver all but demands a turn to swing with her outside, and then I watch as the guards, gardeners, and neighbors all stop by to say hi to her. She will go to anyone at anytime, unless it's time to eat.

Sometimes she seems to be in a very serious or pensive mood and I whisper to her "what are we going to do about these BOYS?" and one time, right after I said something to that effect to her, Andrew walked by and made a crazy face at her and she reached out and grabbed his hair and pulled....hard.

Right on sista.

Lost In Translation

So this weekend was district conference. Every meeting is in Indonesian and they have a few missionaries who will translate into English for our branch. For once we were the ones with the headphones on! Tanner went to the leadership meeting without me because Andrew has had Jakarta stomach bug for the last 3 days and so I stayed home with him. I originally thought there would be an hour or two break between the leadership meeting and the adult session, but I forgot to check and I was wrong. Tanner texted me on his way home and I hurried and got ready so we could do a switcheroo. I hopped in a taxi, but I knew I was already going to be about 30 mins late. I walked in, and someone handed me the headphones. They didn’t work, and they told me I was sitting too far back to get a good reception. I didn’t want to make a scene trying to find a seat closer so I decided to just sit back and take it all in ‘local’ style.

I have been taking Indonesian language lessons, but there is a big difference here between learning the language and how people actually speak. I was just trying to pick out words here and there, but I was getting a little frustrated at how little I was actually picking up. Granted, I haven’t been learning ‘church’ vocabulary, but still. When the second to last speaker got up, I was all excited because he spoke very well and I was picking up all kinds of words. I could understand, “car, maid, little girl, hospital”, but I couldn’t get everything so I just started filling the blanks in my head with what I thought the story he was telling meant. I felt pretty good about it too, and after the session was over, I ran up to my friend and said “that second to last speaker was great, I think I understood a lot of what he was saying, it sounded like a GREAT story!” She looked at me as if I was nutso…and then she explained. Apparently the story had a VERY tragic ending, almost inappropriate to tell over the pulpit. In fact, she took her headphones off at times because she didn’t want to hear some of the details it was so tragic and sad. I was like whhhhaaaaaaat? Yeah, totally missed that one. Suffice it to say, my Bahasa Indonesia needs some work. Oh and I also thought that I would be able to understand an American speaking Bahasa better than the locals, but I couldn’t understand President Groberg any better. :-(

However, what was NOT lost in translation was the choir. They sang in Indonesian, but the melody was unmistakable. It was totally worth the effort to get there to hear a group of Indonesians (many very poor certainly by American standards) sing Count Your Blessings.

Chorus:

Berkat Tuhan mari hitunglah,
kau kan kagum oleh kasih-Nya
Berkat Tuhan mari hitunglah,
kau niscaya kagum oleh kasih-Nya

Quarterly Clarkisms and Andoozies

08/09/10
(Clark dives headfirst into Tanner’s stomach on the couch)
Tanner: Ow Clark, don’t do that.
Clark: That was a love tap with my head.

(During an FHE lesson on the Savior)

Cherylyn: … and then Jesus died because people made bad choices.
Clark: Jesus died!?
Cherylyn: Yep.
Clark: Was Jesus a good guy or a bad guy?
Cherylyn: He was a good guy. He was the best guy that ever lived.
Clark: Then why did you guys kill him?
Cherylyn: Um, we didn’t kill him.
Clark: Then who killed him?
Cherylyn: The bad guys killed him.
Clark: Then do the bad guys help us get to Heavenly Father?
Cherylyn: Ummm.....

Andrew: Dada, can I push you [sic] button!?

Clark: Lets play superheros!!
Tanner: Okay, I’m Batman! Na na na na na na na na na na BATMAN!!!
Clark: No, I’m Batman!
Tanner: Okay, then I’m Superman!
Andrew: No, I Supa man!!
Clark: Yeah, Andrew’s Superman.
Tanner: Fine, then I’m Spiderman.
Clark: No, you’re Ironman! You have fire and your whole body is fire.
Tanner: Wait, if I’m Ironman, wouldn’t my whole body be iron?
Clark: No, you have fire all over your whole body.
Tanner: Okay, then I should be called Fireman!
Clark: Okay.
Tanner: So is Mama Wonderwoman?
Clark: No, she’s the princess!

08/22/10
Clark: Mom, I took a really long nap.
Cherylyn: You did?
Clark: Yeah, it was really boring.

08/28/10
(Clark playing the Wii using a remote with a dying battery, which keeps shutting off)
Clark: Grrr, this remote keeps being mysterious!

08/30/10
Cherylyn: Clark, go get your PJs on.
Clark: But can I still play?
Cherylyn: Yes, after you get your PJs on, you can play for a few minutes.
Tanner: For two minutes.
Clark: No! For five minutes!
Tanner: Nope, two minutes.
Clark: Dad! Mama said five minutes.
Tanner: No she didn’t.
Clark: Dad, you can’t tell me two minutes.
Tanner: Oh yes I can, I’m in charge.
Clark: Mom, can you be in charge of dad tonight so that he doesn’t say two minutes?!

09/12/10
(after we just finished putting the boys to bed)
Clark: Oh wait, I need to go peepee!
Tanner/Cherylyn: (sigh).
Andrew: I need go peepee too!
Clark: Oh yeah! We can make an X!

09/26/10
(Clark playing a video game in which his character squeezed between two bad guys, narrowly avoiding death)
Tanner: Whoa! How did you squeeze between those two guys?
Clark: I squeezed because of my skills!

09/30/10
(After Audrey tipped over sideways in a reclining chair – don’t worry, no babies were harmed)
Cherylyn: Clark, can you help pick Audrey up?
Clark: (grunting while lifting Audrey), but she’s sooo heavy at zero (years old)!

Ma Kasih!

I have taken the boys to the embassy on Fridays the last couple of weeks to get their rabies shots. We are going to Bali for Thanksgiving, and they recommend getting it because they have had a rabies outbreak in the dogs and monkeys. I figured if we didn't get the shots, Clark and/or Andrew would find the one monkey or dog wherever we are staying and get bitten or scratched, so I decided to just make sure that didn't happen. Anyway, we have to stop every time we go to the embassy and the security guards open the doors to check everything out. It was very quiet in the car, and a guard opened the door and just as he was about to close it, Andrew shouted enthusiastically "MA KASIH"! which is the slang version everyone uses here for "Terima Kasih" which is Thank You. Both Lala (our driver) and I started busting up laughing because I have not ever even asked Andrew to say anything in Indonesian (he has a hard enough time with English), but apparently he is listening.

In other news, apparently the way to get my kids over the fear of shots is to take them in a lot. I thought it would be the opposite that by the 3rd shot in the series, they would be acting like they actually HAD rabies, it would be practically impossible to get them into the med unit front door. But in reality, because Clark remembers what happened the last time, he was excited because "I only have to count to 3 mom and then it's over, and I get lollipops and a super hero guy!" (the med unit has some serious goodies they give out to the kids every time). Andrew is chill all the way around about shots for some unknown reason. Clark volunteered to go first and he counted to three, didn't even say ow! and it was over and he was all smiles. Andrew did one cry and he was done. You know your kids were good when the nurse says "Hey, bring your kids in ANYTIME!" I didn't even know what to do I was so pleased! But I know I did at one point on the way back to the car say "Thank you boys for being so good!" and I guess I could have just said "MA KASIH!"

To My Sisters...

Seriously, you all know what to get for me (and by extension Audrey) this Christmas.

You got me all the episodes on VHS a number of years ago on Ebay, and from what I recall, it was a somewhat pricey gift at the time. I did actually watch most of them. It's time for an upgrade ladies.

If you would be so kind.

I'll take the action figure too...and if they have Swiftwind to go with it, all the better.

Think about Audrey...it's really for her.

I promise.

Whenever I am reminiscing on my childhood with girlfriends and they talk about how many Barbies they had, and I mention that I didn't have a one, they look at me incredulously and say "You had NO Barbies?!!"

Who needs Barbie, when you could have She-Ra?

Barbie is a poor woman's She-Ra. Yeah, that's right. I said it.

Not only that, She-Ra and I are so similar...let me count the ways:

1) She has long flowing blonde hair (me. At age 8)

2) Her name was She-Ra. (me. Hello? My name is Cherylyn! Practically identical!)

3) She lived in a rainbow shimmery castle, she could ride AND fly on her unicorn, she could travel to different places by walking through sparkley portals, and she had the coolest get-up around...not to mention sexy, but who cares? (I didn't and don't) It was all about functionality...how else could she run unless her skirt was that short? (me also...in my 8 year old...okay I admit it, AND sometimes 29 year old dreams)

Oh, and...

You didn't really think I named my daughter Audrey just because I liked the name did you?

Audrey....Adora....

Okay, just kidding. But seriously you have to admit, it is kind of awesome.

8 is Great!

Today is our 8th Anniversary! It's funny because it feels like it has gone so fast, but then when I start tallying up all the happenings over the last eight years it feels like we've been together for an eternity. Over the last couple of years it has started to feel like there has been no B.T (before Tanner) life. I liked my B.T. life, but I love my A.T. life.

Since September 21, 2002 we have:

• Moved houses 7 times (average of almost once a year! Ridiculous!)--U-hauled it 5 times!
• Lived in 3 different states and 1 different country besides U.S. (Utah, Virginia, Florida, and Indonesia)
• Visited on vacation or lived in the following interesting cities: Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Diego, Tijuana (MEX), Denver, Topeka (not sure about interesting, but I'll throw it in there), Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Williamsburg (VA), Yorktown (VA), Charlottesville (VA), Valley Forge (PA), Outer Banks (NC), Charlotte (NC), Richmond (VA), Washington D.C., Baltimore, Annapolis, Hershey (PA), Lancaster (PA), New York, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Seattle, Portland (OR), Boise (What up Mel!), St. George (UT) (must include, it's where we were married), Jakarta (Indonesia) (lots more to come in SE Asia).
• Gave birth to three children in the last 4 1/2 years. I have spent almost exactly the same amount of time (4 1/2 yrs) either pregnant or nursing...still counting.
• Tanner graduated from 2 Universities and had 3 full time jobs since graduation! Yikes! Love you honey. :-)
• We have been put under general anesthesia 6 times combined...now that's a yikes. (2 for me, 4 for Tanner). Hey at least only half were for what I would consider somewhat serious or life threatening. Tanner went under 3 times for injections to try to fix his back...unsuccessfully I might add...which resulted in the 4th microdysectomy surgery. Also of interesting note, Tanner has had more epidurals than I have!
• We have held over 20+ callings in the church combined
• Been members of the same NFL Fantasy Football League for 4 years running, and I have won the NCAA tournament bracket twice...Tanner none. Whoop Whoop!
• I have never beaten Tanner in a full Tennis match...ever. :-( (new year's resolution 2011 anyone? I only make meaningful resolutions).
• And I only just found out this last year what Tanner's favorite dessert is. It's Cherry Pie for all of you who are interested. I don't know how I didn't know for 7 years, but there it is.

That's all I can think of at the moment, although we are sure to come up with some more tonight while we are at dinner. Suffice it to say...I love our life. See below for anniversary pictures throughout the years. I don't have a picture from last year. I remember we went to Maggiano's and the food was terrible, and let's just say it wasn't the greatest anniversary...we may have even fought. Oh, the horror! :-) I don't have one from 2005 either...maybe it was because I was 7 months preggers? Oh, and all I have to say about my hair is YIKES!

(2003)

(2004-Tanner totally dressed up)

(2006)

(2007)

(2008)