ghosts, goblins & scary, hairy 28 year old men

As we all know, Halloween is supposed to be a VERY scary day. People dress up in all sorts of crazy costumes and people hang spider webs up on purpose all over their porches and windows. People dress up in scary attire and paint their faces and hide in corners of rooms so that they can jump out and scare the crap out of other people who actually pay money to wet their pants. Other people dress up and sit as still as possible on their porch so that they can yell BOO at the the trick-or-treaters who climb up their front steps for some free candy and end up dropping it all as they make a mad dash for an escape. Other people fire up chain saws and chase after innocent bystanders who are desperately trying to make their way out of a seemingly impossible maze made up of big, tall, dried-up cornstalks that give you the creeps anyway because of the sound they make when the wind blows.

All of these are good examples of what make Halloween scary. But the thing that makes Halloween the spookiest is the fact that it was the day that William Colton Swan entered the world.

Colton was born in Logan, Utah on Halloween night in 1980. His family (Dad, Mom, E'lise, Shayler, and Heather) lived in the Triads on campus at Utah State. Marlene said she was "overdue and huge"--as with all of her pregnancies, but her water finally broke around 2pm. This was the only time that her water ever broke on it's own & she was certainly excited to see it happen because her due date had passed about 2 weeks earlier! She called John, who was working in Hyrum at the time. When they finally got ahold of each other, they got their things together and headed to the hospital. Ike and Barb were in town and took the other kids trick-or-treating, because although they were excited to see whether they were going to have a new little sister or a brother, they didn't want to miss out on the Halloween fun either. John and Marlene got to the hospital at 6 pm that evening and the new baby arrived around 9pm. Colton gave his parents quite a scare as he made his grand entrace into this world because the chord was wrapped around his neck & had been for quite awhile. But when all was said and done, the Swan family welcomed a new baby boy who was 22 inches long and 9 lbs. 6 oz. to their nearly complete family.

28 years later, Colton is still scaring us--almost on a daily basis! But he sure makes life exciting too.

hAppY BirThdAy BaBe!

books

I love to read. There's something to be said for being able to live vicariously through a character in a book. It's an escape. It's a way to be something that you are not--whether that is an orphan, a widow, a CIA agent, a fireman, an inspiration, or whatever. But I love it.

I love books in general. I love the smell of new books and the crisp pages when you open it for the first time. I love the memories of old books (Ramona Quimby, Trixie Belden, Sweet Valley Twins, Babysitter's Club, Nancy Drew, etc.) and the good feeling you get when you spot it on the shelf after you haven't read it in awhile.

I love bookstores. There's something about being surrounded by so many choices. I can spend hours in a bookstore and not realize how much time has passed because I'm too busy trying to decide which book to actually take home. And bookshelves--I LOVE homes with bookshelves that are full of interesting reads. Like the Griffits in Coeur d'Alene...

On our roadtrips this year, we've spent alot of time discussing puzzles (crosswords, syllacrostics, and a bunch of other kinds) and good books. In honor of those discussions, I would like to provide a list of some of my favorite books/authors.

For the mystery/action lovers:

• Anything by Vince Flynn--His books are exceptionally well written and researched. Not too mention they are addicting. You really will not be able to put them down.
• Anything by Lois Duncan or Mary Higgins Clark--these books are your typical semi-cheesy mysteries that are quick reads.

For the romance lovers:

• Anything by Nicholas Sparks--You've all seen The Notebook, so you can just imagine the tears that will be streaming down your face in private compared to the ones you semi-controlled in the movie theater.
• Anything by Dorothy Keddington--But my favorites are "Return to Redcastle" and "Jayhawk". Her books are romances with a little mystery mixed in.

Religious:

• "The Great and Terrible" series by Chris Stewart
• "Children of the Promise" and "Hearts of the Children" series by Dean Hughes
• "Work and the Glory" series by Gerald Lund
• Anything by Jack Weyland

Other:

• "Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry"
• "To Kill a Mockingbird"
• "Summer of the Monkeys"
• "Where the Red Fern Grows"
• "Me and Caleb"
• "Summer of the Swans"
• "Lord of the Flies"
• "Les Miserables"
• "The Lottery Rose"
• "The Indian in the Cupboard"
• "The Scarlet Letter"
• Any of the "Harry Potter" books

If you can think of any other awesome books, let me know!

little ones

I absolutely LOVE my nieces and nephews. They all have so much personality and I can't wait to see how their parents handle that when they each get a little older...I love the relationship that I have with each of them & I hope that we will always be close enough that I can watch them grow up.

Karlee Dee (3), Kaden Brock (16 months), and Adric Ty (8 days) all belong to Tyra and Brock.

Kennedy Taylor (5) and Mason Brandon (2) both belong to Kelsey and Brandon. And they are expecting another little girl in January...yipee!

gaining ground

After a big weekend in Bozeman and Missoula, we are slowly creeping back up to where we belong...

2008 Big Sky Women's Volleyball Standings
1. Northern Colorado (Record: 6-2; 12-5 Overall)

2. Portland State (Record: 5-3; 12-6 Overall)
Weber State (Record: 5-3; 14-8 Overall)
Eastern Washington (Record: 5-3; 9-9 Overall)
Sacramento State (Record: 5-3; 7-16 Overall)

6. Northern Arizona (Record: 4-4; 12-5 Overall)
Montana (Record: 4-4; 8-10 Overall)

8. Idaho State (Record: 2-6; 5-15 Overall)

9. Montana State (Record: 0-8; 3-15 Overall)

This week will be a real test for us though...we are off to Portland State and Eastern Washington. And it's payback time!!!

awesome

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to the hospital and watch my sister, Tyra, give birth to a beautiful (7lb. 4oz. & 20 in.) baby boy: Adric Ty Williamson.

A few weeks ago, I was over at her house and sort of half-jokingly mentioned that I wanted to be in the delivery room to witness this whole process. Tyra told me that if I really wanted to, she would let me come in. I instantly decided that it was something I couldn't pass up, so when they checked into the hospital yesterday, I was right there with them.

For awhile, nothing too exciting was going on so Brock & I started in on the Season 3 DVD of The Office to keep us entertained while she started on her Pitocin (the stuff they give you through an IV to start you after they've broken your water). Ty started getting a little uncomfortable so she stood up for awhile and knelt on a chair and then back to the bed. Her IV was leaking a little, so when the nurse came in, she also checked her and said she was at a 3.5. At this point, she opted out of the epidural because it didn't work in time (and then only numbed 1/2 of her body) last time. Nurse Kathy told her that she had "plenty" of time if she wanted to change her mind. Her contractions started to become more intense and 30 minutes later, the nurse came back in to check her again just before she left for the day. She was at a 7 by this point so the nurse assured her that she would alert the Dr. and the nurse who would be coming in to take her place. But she didn't really take Tyra too seriously when she was told that the baby was dropping and insisted that she had lots more time. So off she went on her merry way.

15 minutes later the new nurse, Tina, came in and Tyra immediately asked to be checked again. She was having a hard time breathing and her extremities were going numb. Because of this, Tina gave her some oxygen and when she checked her, her eyes got enormous and she pushed the call button and told the receptionist that they "needed a setup in 518 NOW!!" When Tyra told her that the baby was coming and she couldn't stop it, Tina pushed the button again and said, "We also need to get Kim (the lead nurse) in here RIGHT NOW!

Not even a minute later, in comes the setup crew--unfolding towels and laying out tools. Kim came in with the warmer/blankets for the baby and immediately tried to get Tyra to slow down her breathing so that the Dr. would make it in time to deliver the baby instead of just to congratulate the parents. Kim was so calm and succeeded for a whole two minutes to get Tyra to slow herself down and to resist the urge to push. While she was getting Tyra to breathe, she told the assistant who was setting up the tools that she needed to get gloved up and get something to cut the chord with. (Are you serious? This was when I knew that there was no more messing around. And I just prayed that these nurses knew how to deliver the baby.) Tyra started demanding that they put her feet in the stirrups because there was nothing more she could do to stop the baby from coming. And all the while Brock was trying to get Tyra to be more rational, "Honey, we have to wait for the Dr." To which Tyra was trying to get Brock to be realistic, "He's coming NOW!"

In waltzed her doctor (in her Chuck Taylor double tongue converse tennis shoes) in just enough time to glove up and catch the baby. Seriously, Dr. Julia was in the room for a maximum of 5 minutes from the time she put her gloves on til the time she walked out the door. Brock said it was the fastest $2K anyone ever made.

And all I did was cry.

It was the most incredible thing I have ever experienced. It was comical, happy, scary, amazing, intense, spiritual, and awesome all at once.

I'm so happy that I got to be a part of this. Thank you, Tyra and Brock, for being willing to let me invade your privacy and to witness the greatest miracle ever. I will never forget this.

it's all about who you're with

I was at a high school football game last weekend with Colton, and Davis High School's principal was kidding us about being together for so long without getting married. He told us, "It matters not what you do. It matters not where you are. What matters is who you are with." I kept thinking to myself at the time that I really hoped Colton was paying attention. But later that night, I started thinking about why I'd been feeling frustrated recently and, consequently, I started to think about the things I really love about Colton. And Dr. Homer's advice rings true--when I'm most frustrated with everything else in life, he is always there to make me see the things that are really important and really matter. Knowing that I'll get to spend time with him makes it easier to deal with a bad day at work, a frustrating weekend on the road, or even my own bad mood. He makes me laugh when I need it the most...And although I can get really ticked off at him, I need to be better about my perspective because I really am lucky to have snagged him. He's a keeper.

kindergarten games

You know that game you play in elementary school where you whisper something to your neighbor and by the time it goes around the circle and gets back to you the words are all twisted up and the message has changed?

I hate that game. That's exactly what happens when words get twisted around. So for the record: I do NOT regret passing up the Idaho State job. My point after our last match was that I CHOSE to stay here because we should be the better team (but are not playing like it lately).

Enough said. Don't twist my words. And if you are taking things personally, STEP UP your game on the court instead of playing "he said, she said"! If you have an issue with something I've said or feel like I've hurt your feelings, come to me with it instead of someone else please...

quirks tag

The McFadden wives tagged me, so here are some of my disturbing quirks. I say disturbing because I never really realized how OCD they are until I had to write them down for the public to view!

Creepy:
1. I love laundry. But I'm obsessive about it. Each sock has to go with it's true partner--the one it came in the package with. So even though I have a million pair of white Nike and Adidas no-show socks, they must be matched up correctly. So to make sure this happens, I've been known to mark each sock with a unique symbol on the toe or arch with a permanent marker so that I know what goes with what when I'm folding. And about the folding...it has to be done perfectly. T-shirts have to be folded like they are on a rack at the department store. Jeans must have the seams lined up exactly. Underwear even has to be folded a certain way. See? I told you it was disturbing...

2. I'm VERY superstitious. About routines. About my food. About my shoes. About my underwear. About my hair. About music. About numbers. In fact, I was sure that we would lose our district championship basketball game against Snake River in high school when I was a sophomore because I couldn't find my "lucky" ponytail holder. I was hysterical and in tears. My mom thought I was nuts. But I think she realized how dead serious and seriously crazy I was. So she helped me find it. And we won.

3. I am obsessed with numbers. I have some lucky (goes back to the superstitious thing) numbers: 11, 34, 10, 46, 13 (listed in order of importance). These numbers are staples in my life. I wish on these numbers whenever they are visible--for instance, when the time is 11:34 am or pm. I count to these numbers while I'm drinking water, running, or walking up stairs. I count incessantly. It's also disturbing.

4. I'm a compartmental eater. That is correct. I don't like to mix and match my food. If I am eating tri-tip steak, potatoes, and salad, I have to eat all of the salad before I move onto the potatoes, and when those are all gone, I eat the steak last. And the food disappears according to how I rate it's taste--in order of my least favorite to most favorite. Every. Single. Time.

And now for the not so creepy:
5. I love CLEAN smells. I love the smell of laundry, linens, fresh cut green grass. I don't really like my house to smell like pumpkin pie or oatmeal cookies. I prefer it to smell like someone just got out of the shower and used Dove exfoliating soap--because that soap smells CLEAN. In fact, it's the only kind of soap that I will use. I take it with me everywhere I go in a portable container so that I don't have to use another kind at the gym or hotel. I like CLEAN smelling perfumes--so that I smell like I just took a shower instead of smelling like I spritzed on a bunch of perfume.

6. I am a shoe whore. I love shoes. I don't like my shoes to get dirty. I don't like them to look like they've been worn more than once. I don't like the traction to get worn off. I like to have shoes that not everyone else has (which is easier since I have such a big foot). I am also a jeans whore. I love jeans. I don't like my jeans to get dirty--especially at the hems. And for some reason, I can never have too many pairs of either...

happy birthday tyra

I can't believe my baby sister is 29!!! Hope you have a great birthday--even if you got your identity stolen! I love you...

i'm a fan

I love The Office. And these made me laugh...