The Crockett Family

Live Strong

2009-08-21T07:36:00.001-07:00

I am creating this post at the behest of my persistent brother, Bryan. For the next 30 days I am going to track everything I eat. The idea is to count calories and keep an eye on what I eat, but the main goal is to track it. Once I get past 30 days of tracking, I'll move on to a bigger and better goal!

Snowboarding

2009-02-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

Now that we're back in Idaho, Morg has decided to take on the task of teaching me to snowboard. Scary! We've gone twice now, and it's sooo much fun!

First Snow

2008-10-12T01:47:00.000-07:00

Well, just as quick as I was enjoying autumn (my favorite season), winter came. Fancy that. I'm not really a big fan of the cold, but I think this was just sort of a preview. This coming week is supposed to be pretty nice. It does bring back memories, though, and makes me want to cook up a big bowl of chili like Mom used to.

The View

2008-10-10T01:19:00.000-07:00

My work building is up on a big hill overlooking our side of town. It's nice to go out and see the view of all of the trees and this area of our city. Now that autumn is upon us it's beautiful to see all of the trees changing color while you're outside with the crunching leaves underfoot and the brisk wind trying to blow you away.

Lava Hot Springs

2008-10-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Lava Hot Springs with some friends, Dave and Dean. Dave wanted to show us this little Thai restaurant that he loves, so we ate dinner there before heading to the pools. I was a little skeptical because if there are vegetables involved, I probably won't like it. Also, there aren't any 'staple' foods in this sort of restaurant to order. I ended up ordering a meal that came with meat, carrots, cabbage and broccoli. They were all separated on the plate and they came with a sauce. Since I was feeling a little adventurous I decided to try some of the vegetables. They were so good! Some of the cabbage with the steak and some of the sauce was such a pleasant surprise. Very healthy and very tasty. After dinner we spent some time soaking in the world famous hot springs and it felt so great. Up until recently I wasn't aware of how sought after Lava Hot Springs is, but people actually move to that city to be near the springs for the minerals in the water and the air. Very relaxing.

I'm Not A Lazy Bum Anymore Either!

2008-09-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

I got a job! Yeeessssss! I can't believe this worked out so well. On my very first day my co-workers (the people that interviewed me and that I will be working with daily) had put flowers on my desk to welcome me. They're such sweet people. I had interviewed at several other places and none of them called to offer me a job (or not) until after I had accepted this job. I'm so glad! This is exactly the kind of job I love, there are such great benefits because it is a state job and both Morgan and I can go to school for $5 per credit at our local University. Also, the job I originally interviewed for at this place was slightly lower paid, and the people that interviewed me felt I was qualified for another position they were trying to fill, which is higher paid. They offered me the higher paid position, where all the other places I interviewed for would have been the lower paying position. I feel so lucky that none of the other places offered me a job until after this place did. I also got a job at the mall part-time, just before I got this job offer, so a day or two per week I hang out at the mall and sell lotion. I love the discount!

On another note, I have to mention my poor flowers. When I saw those flowers on my desk and found out they were for me, I had a silent funeral in my head. The poor things, they had no way of knowing they would be doomed to be given into my care. It's a shame... I kept them in the office at first to enjoy their sunny, colorful beauty in my office, but after a few weeks of my bumbling efforts at caring for them I had to sneak them home so my thoughtful co-workers wouldn't see what a state they were in and think that I wasn't caring for their gift. I took a picture of them after I brought them home. I haven't given up on them just yet, but I think they've given up on me.

Happy Birthday Val!

2008-09-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

Today we got together at Mom & Dad's for Val's B-day. We got to hang out with her new man and get to know him a little bit. We probably scared him off... sorry Val. But happy birthday anyway!

Impromptu BBQ

2008-08-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Doing stuff on impulse- my new favorite thing. Holly was going to pick up the girls at Mom & Dad's house, so she asked if I wanted to go with her. Mike called as we were driving up there, and Holly told him he should come too. Shortly after we arrived and visited with Mom a bit, Dad got home from work. When Dad called up Todd & Kristin and said how 'bout a barbeque? of course they were in. The funny thing was Dad said, good- we'll be there soon! So we had a full house at Todd & Kristin's and they were really able to put together a bbq in a snap. When I grow up I want to be just like Kristin. ;) Sometimes it's when you do something impulsive that you end up having a super fun time and a memorable experience. I was glad that all of these events fell into place so we could have so much fun. Too bad Val was working or we could have hauled her over to Kristin & Todd's too.

Under Construction

2008-08-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

I've been inspired to renew and revamp the blog. It seems like a great way to track goals, dreams, accomplishments, and special moments in my life. I only say 'seems' because I'm not sure that I will succeed in my attempt to stick with it this time, but I am convinced that it is in fact a great idea regardless (insert comedian's accent). Some of my older posts may look different for a bit while I fiddle with the template, but I have confidence that you can all be strong until I get it all worked out.

Party Time

2008-08-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

Because Holly & Ben have moved, some friends and neighbors wanted to throw them a going-away party. We all met at a park near Holly & Ben's old house. Everyone brought some food and we visited for a few hours while the kids played on the toys. It was really nice to meet at the halfway point so we could see Mom, Malaya, Kristin, Todd, and their kids.

Take a Hike

2008-08-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Holly, Mike, the girls and I went hiking today. Holly enlisted both Mike and me to come with, yet it was she who kept saying, "Who's idea was this?!" As we trekked up the hill, Kelsie would beg off by having one of us carry her on our shoulders. Whitney kept stopping and giving us gifts of nature. Every few minutes we'd have to accidentally lose 5 or 10 rocks, a few pine cones, and some flowers so we weren't so weighted down! When we got to the top of the hill, Kelsie and Whitney pretended they were behind a counter and asked us what we would like to buy. Of course we were hungry, so we ordered a burger and fries. I have to say-the rock Kelsie gave me didn't taste very good. Not like a burger at all! On the way back down the stroller kept catching on rocks and things so Holly just picked the whole thing up and carried it.

Splash

2008-08-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

I picked up the phone today to hear Ben on the other line saying only- "You comin'?" Of course I'm coming! Where are we going? Apparently we were going to go swimming. I was sure I'd have fun with them, but I wasn't convinced that I actually wanted to go swimming. It turned out to be a special treat, super fun, and just what I didn't know I wanted to do today. Too bad I didn't get any pictures of any of us going around the lazy river on the tubes. We also went for ice cream when we were done. I think icecream somehow tastes better than normal after you've gone swimming. I'll need a scientist to somehow confirm...

Little Brooke had such a blast splashing in the water. I can remember a few years ago when it was Whitney doing the exact same thing. The pictures of that occasion vs. this one even look similar! I'll have to find those and post them sometime. I had to post a video of cute Brooke because the pictures just don't do it justice.

Take a Walk

2008-08-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

As most of my family members know I've struggled to get my beagle potty trained. We've tried crate-training (keeping her in her kennel while we're gone and taking her out as soon as we get home), mean-voice training (rubbing her nose up to her messes and telling her we go potty OUTSIDE!), giving her a treat when she goes potty outside, taking the dogs out separately, together, etc. What wasn't funny at all, was that when I was vigilant about taking her to the mess, identifying for her what she was in trouble for, and then taking her outside to show her where that mess belongs, she actually started going potty in the house and running to the door like, 'Ok, now we get to go outside.'

So now I've started to take them for walks. This seems to be the magic trick. I take them out at specific times so that they will know that whether they tell me they have to go or not, we're going for a walk. So far, so good. I really enjoy getting out and walking several times a day, and they really love it too. For some reason when we're walking, Ginger has no problem stopping and doing her business, but when she's just out in the yard she'll just stand out there for an hour without going potty.

Coloring

2008-08-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

Today Holly, Ben, the girls, and I went to Blackfoot to gather up some of the last of their things. Sometimes when we're getting stuff done what we really need is to somehow keep the girls occupied. Whitney and Kelsie were coloring in the kitchen for a while, but when I went to check on them and comment on their pretty pictures Whitney quickly enlisted me to help her make the best picture EVER for Holly. My job was to add purple and red dots to the picture.

Quick, Behind You!

2008-08-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

Today I learned the value of distraction. Occasionally Holly & I will be out and about and the girlies will decide to fight or cry or do any number of things little girls do when they're very tired. We were in the van when this happened today and when Holly ran inside the house I decided to try out her trick (she's an expert at distraction!). So I whipped out my camera and said, "Kelsie, quick, super cute!" and she stopped mid-whine and gave me the cutest smile ever. I did the same with Whitney and it became a photography extravaganza instead of way-past-naptime-fight-time. I'm gonna have to remember this trick!

Breaking in the Crockett Side

2008-08-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to break in Morgan's side of the family to my picture-taking ways. I was shocked when they had a family get-together and they didn't know it was a requirement to take a picture of everyone before they left. Shocked I tell you! I have a picture of Morgan's dad here, who kept swearing at me every time I tried to take a picture. If only he knew he'd look better smiling than swearing! It's okay, though, I'll make it my mission to show him (I can hear him groaning right now). I'm okay with blaming this all on them for now. Obviously if they had more pictures I wouldn't have to take so many to make up for it.

For Morgan's brother Brad's birthday party a lot of their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents came to Ross Park to hang out and have a picnic. It was a lot of fun. What was super funny to me, was that the moment I realized no one else was going to take pictures of the occasion I quickly took up the post. When I said, "No! You can't leave yet, we need a picture of everyone," they totally lined up and waited for the picture! I feel so... so... powerful. They totally did it, because I made them, lol. I hope they get used to it, because the picture-taking- not a phase. I will haunt them forever, and my camera too.

Jump!

2008-08-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

I was visiting Holly and Ben today and we spent some time jumping on the trampoline with the girls. We noticed that Brooke was avidly watching everyone who was jumping, and Holly decided it was time to see what Brooke thought of actually being on it herself. Cutest thing ever! She couldn't get enough of it. She was smiling, laughing and making those super cute happy sounds that only babies make. We all had tons of fun. Whitney and Kelsie enjoyed playing with Brooke while she was out there and they had a really great time rough-housing with Ben.

Every time I go over to their house we spend some time playing on the tramp with the girls, "getting out all of our wiggles" and- wow! That's a good workout.

Going Island Style

2008-06-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

When my uncle Merle got married last year, he invited all of us to come and celebrate the occasion with him. Their exciting nuptials took place on the exotic Hawaiian island Honolulu. A lot of us weren't able to attend because of the travel expense, but Mom, Dad, Val, and Aunt Linda were able to make it. Since Grandma & Grandpa Ball were among those of us unable to attend, Mom & Dad decided to bring Hawaii to them! This year, for Grandma & Grandpa's 50th anniversary, Mom & Dad planned and executed a beautiful and fun Luau inspired by the sights, sounds and feel of Hawaii.

Mom planned a special silly time where she threw us into grass skirts made us publicly, well, humiliate ourselves. All is not lost however, since she was all for doing it herself also! We all got up in front of everyone and did our version of the hula dance and it turned out to be all sorts of fun. Dad played a fake ukelele while Mom, Linda, and Penny did the Hula. After their act it was time for Val, Holly and me to hula and do the Can-Can. Wow! Somehow every time we try that, someone kicks their leg the wrong way and we all end up kicking each other.

Mike did great providing sound and music for the whole presentation, fading out the music between each act like a pro. He also created a video the day before and DURING the luau that included older pictures of Grandma & Grandpa, recent photos of them and family, and pictures taken at the luau of all the fun and games. He was able to finish the video complete with music, pictures and video clips before the end of the event so that everyone could watch it before leaving. It was really a great tribute to Grandma & Grandpa.

I think we can all agree that the best part of the day was the irresistible feast planned by Mom and prepared by the Red Lion Inn. Absolutely delicious! Because Mom & Dad had rented a room for the night, we were able to swim, change clothes, eat, change back and then relax in the hot tub. Another special part of the event was that Steve and Annie were in town and took part in the festivities with us. What a great treat! I had so much fun catching up and hanging out with them.

Kidnapped!

2008-04-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

Holly kidnapped me today to go with her and the girls to Deleta. I was a little skeptical at first but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Monday is the perfect night for it too, since most people don't go on weeknights. At any given time there were only about 8 people or so on the floor with us.Sometimes I grabbed Kelsie and we skated around with her in front of me almost limp with my squishy arms trying to hold her up while she shouted, "I'm doin it! I'm doin it!" Whitney was so cute- stubbornly refusing help as she used the wall to guide her way around the whole rink. She did really good and was proud of herself later saying, "Last time we came here I was kind of good, and this time I did even better!" Too cute :) Holly and little Brooke were a sight to behold gliding around the rink gracefully like she's been doing it all her life. Fun stuff, thanks for kidnapping me :)

Girls Night!

2008-04-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

Today I was invited to girls night with Holly, Kristin, Val, Mom and some of their friends. We went to Butterburr's for some dinner before heading over to do some mini golfing. So much fun to catch up with everyone here and to spend some quality time. To the right is a picture I took when Holly got a phone call and the crazies to her right and left pulled out there cell phones to join in the fun! I love the silliness ;) Later we were getting up to leave and Val turned around in her chair... and came back around with the top of the chair in her hands! Look, I have proof! These girls were so much fun to hang out with :)

After all the excitement at Butterburr's we made our way over to the Fun Zone for mini golfing. Holly and I are terribly slow so we let 2 or 3 groups of people go in front of us. We still ended up making people wait on us while we took like 10 strokes per hole. On a side note we found out that max strokes allowed per hole is 6. That would have saved a lot of time...

A bit more silliness ensued upon our departure when Holly found a gorilla statue to play with. She thought of donating little Brooke to the gorilla to be raised as a little tarzan, but the gorilla didn't respond to her questions, comments and concerns, even when she tried using gestures. At that point Holly and Kristin confused him with their husbands.

It's The Holiday Season...

2006-11-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Morg and Snowbie staking out the front of our house for the trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Snowbie was a witch this year!

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving too. Jenny and Darin are in San Diego, so we spent the day with some friends. Aren't my little Thanksgiving pilgrim people cute! ;) HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Christmas 2004

2006-10-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

I took some of our Christmas pictures and put them with music to create this little video. Enjoy! ;)

Halloween Decorations

2006-10-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Well I knew it! I KNEW Ginger was eyeing those baby pumpkins a little too often and a little too curious-like. That's right- she ate one! The whole thing, just like that. I thought she might stick it in her mouth for a second just to see what it was and kind of figure it out, but I never thought she would EAT one! Crazy dog. It's too bad I didn't take any pictures of the evidence she left behind. Not that there was much, but there were a few seeds on the carpet, a missing pumpkin, and a guilty Ginger.

Well, on a less crazy note, I am really excited because I finally found the Jack-o-lantern lights I've been looking for since last Halloween. So I've got them all hung up. Thanks to Morgan I found a couple of my other decorations so I put those out too. Check it out...

These are my little haunted houses. Please take note that this is where I used to keep the missing pumpkin...

Yay for pumpkin lights!

Again- I'm totally Halloweenish! If you all want to come over for Halloween, I'll throw a big costume party... Anyone?

Headshots

2006-10-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the pictures of me that Morgan took when I was auditioning for a play. I needed some headshots for my 'resume' and the pro pictures I got were terrible! So I had Morgan take some 'Amateur' pictures and they turned out soooo good. I think maybe he's a professional photographer and just doesn't know it yet!

Here's a picture of my gross leg. Morgan and I were going for a late night swim. Turns out the pool house closes earlier than midnight. So we decided to hop the fence. Not such a great idea if you want the truth because I got a big nasty bruise from sliding my leg down the fence. Check it out!

Halloween decorations

2006-10-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

So I have to post some pictures of my wonderful orange Halloween lights for your pleasure.

So I'm all Halloweenish. I like the baby pumpkins. Ginger likes them too...

Morgan's 22nd Birthday Party

2006-10-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

Friday, September 22nd was Morgan's golden birthday. We threw him a big birthday barbeque on Saturday. Check out the pics below. After we ate our big juicy steaks and caesar salads we sat around our fire pit in the backyard and socialized for a while. Our friends Abraham, Billy & Claudette came and celebrated with us.

Above is a picture of a couple of our friends, Billy and Claudette. They're a lot of fun. :)

There's Morgan, brand new at 22! Here's me still the same at 21! You can see the dartboard in the background- that was Morgan's b-day present.

After we had our barbeque outside and we'd sat talking around the fire, we went inside and played a few games of Texas Holdem. The poker table you see was a Christmas present I got for Morgan the year before last. It's basically just a tabletop that you set on top of your existing table, so it was a lot of fun to bring that out and transform our dinner table into a casino table! We played well into the night and finally everyone left sometime in the am. :)

More Pics of the Apartment

2006-10-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is what you can see from the stair rails at the upstairs hallway.

This is the hallway at the top of the stairs.

If you turn left at the top of the stairs you come into the master suite. Immediately on your left is our master bathroom. Yes, Mom, that is the gift set you gave me for Christmas last year. It matches so well! I'll post some pictures of the bedroom once I get it decorated a little. Right now it's just a room with a bed and dresser :)

Here's our very cool laundry room with upper cabinets and tile floor. There's even a window in there! It also comes with a dog as you can see. :)

It was funny when I was wondering around the house taking these pictures Ginger was right underfoot helping me. ;)

Our New Apartment

2006-10-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of the entry to our Townhouse. The door on the left is our side entry "front door" and the door in the middle is the entrance to the garage. Right next to that is our coat closet. We've never had a coat closet before! I love that. :)

Here's a quick peek at our little half bath downstairs to your immediate right at the entry. It's very convenient to have since our other two bathrooms are upstairs.

If you walk straight in from the garage or side entry "front door" you'll find yourself in our dining room. You may have noticed that we only have three chairs. We've had this dining table set for a 1-1/2 years and they still haven't delivered the fourth chair. Don't worry- I'm still harassing them blast it all! You can also see our french doors that lead to our back yard. So cute!

If you're sitting at the dining room table you can look straight into the kitchen through a little peek-a-boo window. On the right is the living room.

Here is the view of our living room if you're standing in the kitchen.

From the living room you can see into the kitchen. As you can see there is a little kitchen bar there. One of these days we're going to get some bar stools and then my picture would be complete.

To the left of the Entry way you can go right up the stairs. This picture is a view of the stairs from upstairs.

This is the view of the hall at the top of the stairs. You can see the little alcove where there is a built-in desk. This would be a great place for the computer except that there isn't a cable connection right now. Someday, maybe. You can see that we have skylights up there. Love those! We also have stair rails on the other side so you can see down into the dining room.

To Shoot or Not to Shoot

2006-07-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Morgan and I went with some friends to go shooting yesterday. It was terribly hot, but we had a lot of fun. The last time I went shooting I shot three of the clay pigeons right out of the air! This time I only shot one, but I shot all of the stationary targets that Morgan set out for me.

The first time Morgan gave me the gun yesterday (I shot a 20-gauge and a 12-gauge) I was all nervous and scared because I'm alway surprised at what a kick the gun gives when you shoot. Holy Cow- those guns are heavy. I was trying to point the thing at the thing and my marshmellow arms were shaking so bad I could hardly aim at all.

I have attached some of the pictures we took of all the excitement for your enjoyment. :)

Jessica's Birthday Makeover

2006-06-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Jenny will be taking Mom and the kids to Idaho tomorrow (or at least that was the original plan) so I won't be able to celebrate Jessica's birthday with everyone. I decided it would be fun to get us all gussied up and walk the runway. Above you'll see her 'before' picture.

Below are Jessica's fabulous and gorgeous 'after' pictures.

Here are some with both of us being goofy together...

We had a lot of fun today and I can't wait for everyone to come back from Idaho so we can have even more fun. I miss you already Willow!

Kings, Concubines,--and Vikings?

2006-04-14T00:11:00.000-07:00

Well after Jennys post about Darins blood line running back to royalty I started thinking about what might be in mine. So I started snooping around, and there are hints and also some of my family members say that I may be related to "Eric the Red" or "Eric Torvaladsson" the viking that discovered greenland and whos son Leif Ericsson is rumored to have discovered America 500 years before Columbus, he also had a son named Thorkell Leifsson. notice a pattern in the last names yet? yeah me to. My guess is when it got to the last name Larson "or the son of someone named Lar or Lars."they decided maybe it was to confusing to keep track of family history that way and decided to keep the same last name from then on. Well I found it extreamly difficult to find the name Thorkell Liefson,-I dont seem to have the internet surffing abillitys I would like to have- it proves to be even more difficult to find out what his kids' names were. So I will provably have to take the long rout and go backwards. It might not be so bad because Meliss says that Jane is very good at that sort of thing, and my grandmother on the Crockett side I think did a geniology or however you spell it you know what I mean. So I will probably ask them to teach me or help me to know where and how to look up the past relatives. So its not kings and nobels but still if it turnes out to be true, cool. So here we are, a family of great kings, and gracious nobels, beutifull concubines, and savage seaberers, and maybe more. What ever it equalls is magnificent. Ok so that doesn't sound like me but I really did make that up, and the vikings may not have been savage but it sounded cool. right? Anyways wish me luck.

morg.

Our Kids

2006-04-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our cute little kids. For some reason people keep telling me that they get their looks after their parents. Go figure.

Below- snob, I mean snowb, gets her fifteen minutes of fame.

Above, Snowball and Ginger decided the best place to sleep was in the CLEAN clothes basket. What an idea!

On the right, I had originally thought that if the bone was big enough, they would share it. Man, I've never been so wrong. Ginger was a fiesty little puppy and Snowbie wasn't letting that bone out of her sight (or mouth)! Finally I took the bone and hid it under the sink. One day I heard someone in the kitchen (I was the only one home) and saw Ginger pawing her way into the cupboard under the sink. That was just the beginning of all of my doggy troubles.

On the left you'll see one of the earlier puppy pictures we have of Ginger. You know how it is when you've got little things; You have to put them in little things because it's even cuter that way! She didn't get it.

On right- You see a short phase in Ginger's life when Snowbie was not afraid to play with her. Now Snowbie One just tries to keep to herself. Occasionally (to Morgan's dismay), Ginger will find one of daddy's socks and run by Snowb. That's all it takes.

And every now and again, they'll stop to pretend we all live happily ever after. The End.

The Crockett Family Webpage

2006-04-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

Well, Jenny had to go and create a blog (I almost called it a glob!) and do a fantastic job of it, so I got to thinking that it would be nice if the Simonsons could all see what's going on with us Crockett's too. I gotta tell you, it's pretty boring. We don't do much around here, but since I'm already behind I'm going to post a bunch of pictures of things we've done over the last few months and you'll all think that we do cool things all the time!

Pic

2005-05-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

This is nothing, I just need this pic to be online for something. Move along now, nothing to see, nothing to see. :)