You might be a redneck if...

...You go to your grandfather's 80th birthday party and parade around in plaid shirts.

Grandpa Ladanye turned 80 yesterday. In his own words, he was not sure he was going to "see the big 8.0." He underwent open heart surgery last fall and the road to recovery has been anything but smooth.



We are grateful that he was still around to celebrate one more year in this world.


All 4 kids and ALL 12 grandchildren drove up to Brigham City and brought lunch and birthday wishes yesterday.


After lunch, all the grand kids disappeared to the garage and somehow unearthed a big box of Grandpa's Plaid Shirts.


They (plaid shirts) are all the rage right now in teen apparel and the kids were certain they had struck gold.
Me, I wasn't so sure. (Not a huge fan of the plaid--wasn't in the 80's and still am not!)


BUT, they all put on one of Grandpa's shirts. Then they grabbed him and made him put one on, and lined up for some "ABERCROMBIE-esque" model shots. (although I think they look more like a cover for something along the lines of "LUMBERJACK MAN". Very good looking lumberjacks, but lumberjacks none the less.)


Here are just a few shots....


I am wondering if my family has crossed the line into REDNECK for this photo shoot? Heaven help us if we have. Would that mean we would have to start telling "you might be a redneck" jokes at all family gatherings from now on? We could invite Jeff Foxworthy to family parties, if he would come. He has some funny redneck jokes and would probably feel mighty comfortable with all that plaid going on!


I will post more shots another day....these were just fun to look at.


Happy Birthday Grandpa! We love you and are glad you stuck around to celebrate 80!

the way kids think

soccer season is upon us.


for some reason, getting on a soccer team in here is like trying to get into the right pre-school in New York City.


you have to be signed up from before birth and have all the right connections.


out of the blue a spot opened up for Olivia this spring.


she has always said she wanted to play.


until now, now that "the spot" was available.


after bribing, begging, cajoling and promising Slurpees for her to just "give it a chance" and "it will be fun" and "you have the nicest coach in the world", she relented and said OK.


i think she will have fun in the end.



we were digging out all of Eliza's old gear last night for Olivia. Getting everything ready for her first practice today. kyle and i were prepping her.
Sam (her very metro sexy coach-in case he is reading!) promised treats for every practice. She was thrilled.



everything is better with treats, right?



We then happened to mention that this practice was in advance
of her first game on Saturday.



She looked at us with shock and said, "you mean i GET TO PLAY in games too?"


we all looked at each other and laughed.


what did she think all these practices were for anyway?

march madness

kyle came home at lunch time today sporting an extra sandwich for me from his spoils at work.


he set it down and asked, "why aren't you watching all the games on t.v.?" (march madness you know--for anyone living in a hole or on the dark side of the moon.)


i looked at him like he had been abducted by aliens and replaced with a new kyle.


i asked him if he was thinking i was maybe one of his OTHER wives? you know, the one that sits around all day watching basketball games on t.v.


he's gone mad.


on the other hand, i did do the dishes, run errands, take grace to the orthodontist, run carpools, and whatnot--maybe tomorrow i can squeeze in some all day basketball watching.

#42, for grandpa ladanye

The Olympus Basketball season is officially over, finished, done, complete. We find ourselves a little bit sad at our now empty Tuesday and Friday afternoons. It was SO fun to watch (as parents). It was thrilling to see 13 boys (who feel a tiny bit like one tall extended family for more than 3 months) play twice every week. The Sophomore team finished 17 and 3...undefeated in district play until the final game against Bountiful. (J.V. had a 20 and 0 record! Should make for some exciting Varsity games next fall.)

Josh was 5th out of 13 in scoring for the team--their lead shooter (is that what he's called?) had an amazing year with 299 points!!!

Last night was the team/parent banquet. Lesson learned: Coach Barnes (head coach at Oly) can talk a LOT. (3 hours strong with hardly a breath!) It was great as a parent to listen to him (the coach) talk about his love for the program, the sport, and the boys. He runs a tough program, but a good one and I am so THRILLED that my son has been surrounded by so many good coaches, that care for him and teach him, and so many GREAT GREAT boys, who have become his friends. (and eaten their fair share of cookies fresh out of my oven)

We look forward (hopefully) to next year, when our Tuesday and Friday evenings will become a little bit fuller again.

Until then, congrats Oly boys--it was a fun ride for all those involved!

viagra

i have known my husband for over 20 years now.

i am pretty sure that in those 20 years, i have never seen the man

blush once. about anything. ever.

you should know that one of the "perks" of his new job is free

lunch. everyday. monday through friday. without fail.

why? free lunch every day...you ask.

drug rep's.

they are booked 3 months out. all year long.

they come and peddle their pharmaceutical wares to the doctors

in the office during lunch hour. drug reps also bring lunch in everyday

for the whole office (the ONE RULE is that the lunch must be "healthy.")

then kyle, and the doctors, sit and eat and listen.

last week kyle told me the viagra reps were there.

they brought cafe rio. i was the recipient of one extra

grilled chicken salad that day.

(another perk of said new job is its 2 minute

proximity from home.)

while kyle was explaining the viagra guys spiel, he blushed.

he giggled.

he couldn't finish the story.

it involved something about a big poster kind of board.

with "samples" on it. so you could show your doctor

about your particular lack of "working order" should

you be in dire need of the drug viagra.

and if you want any further explanation, you'll have to ask kyle.

although, i'm not sure he'll be any better at explaining than i was.

viagra anyone?

POST EDIT: i neglected to mention that the display poster board was a "hands on", 3D, "touchy-feely-show-the-Doctor-what-I'm-talking-about" poster board. it displayed various stages of, should i say, "disfunction?"

Now do you see the reason for the blush, perhaps?