If You're Ever in Need of a Good Insult...

When Tim and I were in London a couple years ago, we visited Shakespeare's Globe Theater, which, as we all know, is the modern reconstruction of the original Globe Theater. While we were there, we contemplated seeing Othello, but ultimately decided that we didn't feel like standing for two hours in the pit with other sweaty tourists (given that we are cheap-o's and would never spring for the actual seat-seats). So instead, after taking a bunch of pictures outside, we wandered into the gift shop and ultimately decided to purchase a set of Shakespeare-themed magnets.

But, this wasn't any old set of Shakespeare-themed magnets; rather, it was a compilation of some of the best insults in Shakespeare's works. Examining those magnets provided much merriment at the time, and continues to, given that (ironically) we use them to hold up the cute, loving, smiley family photos on our fridge.

For your entertainment (and Shakespearean education for the day), here are some of our faves:

"Your breath first kindled the dead coals of wars..."

"Bolting-hutch of beastliness."

"Out, you green-sickness carrion!"

"Thou smell of mountain goat."

"She is spherical, like a globe. I could find out countries in her."

"Thou crusty batch of nature."

"There is not ugly a fiend of hell as thou shalt be..."

"The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes."

"Thou cream-faced loon. Where got'st that goose look?"

"Thou elvish-mark'd abortive, rooting hog."

"Scratching could not make it worse... such a face as yours."

OUCH! Them's fightin' words!!!

So, those are a few options for you, if you're ever in need of a good insult. However, if you're in a tense situation and your mind goes blank, then you could always bite your thumb. That seemed to get people good and riled up back in Romeo's day, too. :-)

Anacortes: The Official Recap

Aaaaaaaand FINALLY I am blogging about my trip to Anacortes. (Whoo! I got back a week ago. I have been a top-notch slacker with blogging this summer!!) Of course, as is customary, I am including a massive lineup of photos for your viewing pleasure. :-)

So, it all started when my half-sister Karen and her husband Jon offered to fly me up to their place in exchange for some babysitting services (which they are always looking for, given that they're very active and outdoorsy people). So, Weston and I headed up to Anacortes, Washington, to hang out with the Pacific NW branch of the fam.

Anacortes is located in the lovely San Juan Islands, and just to give you a taste of what I got to experience while I was there, here is what it looks like outside their window:

We have a gas station outside our window, so I guess their gas station is underwater. Anyway, here is a shot of their yard (again, a little different from Southern California, I noticed):

So, it was nice to just be in such a pretty (and siren-free) place. What made it even more fun was that Weston and I got to spend a lot of time with my 23-month-old niece Kailyn, whom Weston has never met, and whom I haven't seen since she was a wee babe. Although they didn't exactly play with each other very often (preferring instead to play alone or just play with me), Weston and Kailyn interacted quite a bit and really seemed to get a kick out of each other: Apparently, like me, they also enjoyed the view:

During Weston's moments of solitude, he seemed to really enjoy taking in that view from this big comfy chair (and no, I don't drug him, that's just a natural high, baby):

And Weston reeeeaaaaally loved discovering all of Kailyn's toys (ah, the allure of novelty):

While I was there, my sister celebrated her birthday, so I brought along birthday hats and balloons as a surprise. Kailyn seemed to really like her hat, and she wore it off and on throughout the week:

And wow... the kiddies sure loved those wonderful, magical balloons:

Kailyn occasionally liked to nibble on hers:

Jon is a really fun, energetic dad, so he was almost as excited about the hats and balloons as the kids were, and he definitely upped the birthday entertainment factor:

That morning, I tried to get a family photo of the three of them, and they didn't seem to mind the bonus offspring:

Throughout the trip, I took lots and lots of pictures of Kailyn, just because I don't see her very often, and because she's so darling that she makes a good subject. (Incidentally, when I was out with the kids one morning, Kailyn got 8 compliments on her curls and/or cuteness. It's probably good that Weston and Kailyn aren't siblings, because I think Weston would develop a complex.) Anyway, with all my picture-taking, I got to experience the Many Faces of Kailyn, such as Cautious Kailyn:

Peekaboo Kailyn:

Silly Kailyn:

Playful Kailyn:

Focused Kailyn:

And Sunshiny Kailyn (okay, I LOVE those curls, too!!):

Karen and Jon are (A) very diligent parents and (B) very non-television-watching parents, so I'm sure they're very grateful to me for introducing Kailyn to the TV (via a Sesame Street DVD) while they were out being healthy and athletic. Kailyn was open to the concept:

But she checked in with Weston (a seasoned veteran of Sesame Street) occasionally to make sure she was watching it the right way:

One afternoon, Karen and Jon took us out in their powerboat. Weston got good and suited up (what a little trooper):

We zoomed around the islands for a little while, and then we sat and drifted while admiring the scenery, watching the eagles and seals, and eating peaches and other tasty treats:

For instance, there's Mt. Baker in the distance:

Occasionally, one of us would also feel strangely compelled to pose on the boat like a model:

Another day, we took a ferry to Orcas Island, which is the largest of the San Juan Islands. There, we scored delicious baked goods, hiked, played at the lakes, and took in some more amazing scenery. Here are Weston and Karen at the top of Mt. Constitution (the highest point in the islands):

Jon and Karen indulged the photographer with a cuddly little kiss:

Here's Jon admiring the view:

And here's my little man, admiring the fun rocky dirt:

A fabulous, wonderful, stupendous added benefit of my visit to Anacortes was that these two cuties drove up and visited me!!! Yaaaaaaaay for Ed and Karyn (with a "Y")!

Karyn and I grew up just around the corner from each other in Lansdale, so we've known one another since we were little kids. The last time that I saw them (and the first time that I met Ed) was at their wedding a year and a half ago. They're living in the Seattle area right now, so of course I had to see them! Aren't they so adorable? Anyway, thanks again for the visit, you guys!! I miss you, and I'm pretty sure that Weston and Kailyn miss their honorary Auntie Karyn and Uncle Ed!

And finally, as you've seen, most of the pictures that I took of Weston and Kailyn during my visit were individual shots. However, a couple of times, I tried to get a "cousins picture" for the ol' scrapbook, but.... well, it's not as easy as it looks. Attempt #5:

Attempt #18:

Attempt #372:

That'll have to do. Haha! Thanks again, Karen and Jon, for a great time!!! :-)

(FYI, I think I'm going to go back to blogging about normal, boring, everyday things, like dish drainers and cupcakes. I find myself a wee bit exhausted from the massive effort that it takes to organize and compile hundreds of vacation photos. That, I suppose, is one drawback of my Summer of Pointless Travel. So, on with the mini-blogs! At least until late August, when we go to PA/OH again. Whoo!)

4-for-1 Sale

We're having a special deal today at TIM & JEAN: four blog posts for the bargain price of one!!!

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(1)

One tiny dish drainer from Target + a giant heap of precariously-balanced clean dishes = maybe we should wash dishes more frequently.

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(2)

This is my Uncle Joe and my cousin Sarah. Aren't they adorable? Don't they look like the kind of people that you just want to get to know? I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THEM IN AUGUST!!!

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(3)

I call this collection, "Petit Garçon au Matin":

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(4)

So, Weston and I are heading up to Anacortes, Washington, on Sunday for 8 days. Hooray! My half-sister Karen and her husband Jon have never met Weston, and it's been months and months since I've seen my 23-month-old niece, Kailyn, so this is a big event!! Weston is going to get lots of cutie-patootie cousin time with Kailyn, and I'm sure that K&J will get us out hiking and boating a bunch, so pictures will certainly follow (but it may be several days or months after I get back). I'll put lots of pressure on Tim to blog in my absence again (hopefully without any raccoon invasions this time). Adieu for now! :-)

Long Time No Post

Wow, the last time that either one of us posted on this blog was June 20th. Whoo! Talk about slacking off, eh? Well, there's just been too much going on. Too much fun, too much work, too much planning, too many errands... too much re-familiarizing my husband with modern society. (It was a thorough affair. Apparently, Tim had become some sort of leader among a local tribe of raccoons. I spent days instructing him on the proper use and application of clothing, advanced communication skills, and the proper use of a toilet. At first he was vicious and highly territorial, but eventually he warmed up to me, accepted me, and ultimately returned to normal. However, I'm leaving for WA on Sunday, and I fear an almost inevitable relapse. Please... pray for Mojo.) Anywho, now here we are -- July 6th already. A lot has happened since we last posted:

(1) Apparently Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Billy Mays all died. Have you heard?

(2) Russian Dance Party MOVED OUT. Yeah. I KNOW. After a few days of quiet, though, we realized how much we missed them, so we bought some cigarettes and sprinkled them around our front steps, and then went inside and blasted euro-techno music out the window. Sigh.

(3) It's been confirmed... Cafe Rio is COMING TO CALIFORNIA. (Cue angelic choir!) This means a lot to me. Even though I've known for a little while now, I still clutch my Cafe Rio card and weep and exuberantly praise God whenever I think about it. Rumor has it that the establishment won't open until 2010, but I will take a one-hour ten-minute drive to Lake Forest ANY DAY over the four-hour drive to Vegas. (And at least for the first few weeks, I probably WILL be driving there every day.)

(4) I was lucky to be able to attend our stake's annual Youth Conference up near Santa Barbara from June 25-27. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Thanks to Tim and his willing acceptance of three days of sole caretaking, I was able to vicariously enjoy Youth Conference (albeit as a non-youth) and also witness the amazing spirit and dedication of our youth to be kind and serve others. (I helped coordinate the service project this year.) I fell in love with my calling all over again, and I fell in love with all the remarkable young people that we are so lucky to have in this Church.

(5) Finally, the longest day of the year has come and gone, as has our nation's Independence Day. (I can't mention Independence Day without starting the USA chant. USA! USA! USA! C'mon, join in!) We celebrated by attending our neighborhood's annual parade/picnic (and talking to absolutely no one, which is a new low for anti-social us), and by spending the evening at Kate and Jacob's rip-roaring Fourth of July BBQ and swim party (where we actually conversed with people, you'll be happy to know). How did you celebrate?

So, onto the PA debrief... I'll have you know that I took a whopping 331 photographs when I was in PA for two weeks. I was originally going to choose just 10 to post, so as not to become too overwhelmed, but that didn't work, so I've gone ahead and included 30 of my favorite pictures. Enjoy!

Shortly after arriving, Weston and I visited Gangy at the Asher's chocolate factory where she works. (Dream job, right??) Weston surveyed the goodies:

At one point he snagged a candy stick and started sucking on it, which meant that I had to buy it (tricksy little hobbit!). This is probably my favorite picture from the trip (definitely worth an enlargement, grandparents):
Weston and his cousin Killian had SUCH a great time together:

I heart that little face:

More playtime for the cousins, this time at Gigi's (great-grandma's):

Here's that very affectionate little forehead-touch that they kept doing (so precious!!):

Weston loved hanging out with Uncle Brett (in his perma-summer-outfit):

...and with Uncle Jeremy (pre-mohawk):

He did NOT like having his picture taken first thing in the morning, though:

Gangy planted strawberries at the side of the house this summer, and... oh my. I was in heaven. I am certain that I ate more than my fair share of those heavenly delights:

Here's Mark partaking of a Slim Jim. He bought a huge box of them for super-cheap, so he was always giving away Slim Jims while I was there. After I took this picture, I told him that he looked like he was partially enjoying it and partially wanting to vomit. He said, "Yep, that's a Slim Jim." Haha. (Just 16 days until this one ships out!! Rock on, Elder Marcus Aurelius!!)

One evening after Weston was in bed, Killian came over and also partook of a Slim Jim. Hahahaha! He takes his Slim Jims stogie-style:

Isn't he so freaking adorable??

(Tim liked that photo so much that he made it into a Slim Jim ad):

One Saturday, Dana, Anne Marie (Gangy), and I headed to Lancaster for some outlet shopping and some Amish/Mennonite-watching. Among other places, we visited the Bird-in-Hand Farmer's Market, where there was a bounty of tasty goodness. (Note the Mennonite lady in the background, with the hair covering):

There were several stands of baked goods, always featuring the ubiquitous and yum-yum-yummy shoofly pie:

And of course, there was plenty of Amish paraphernalia for the tourists:

Plus, at another place, I found a whole display of whoopie pies, which I love (and still more shoofly pies, too):

The Lancaster trip was such a fun time. Weston got a little fussy during the never-ending shopping spree, but he perked right up once his belly was full and his blankie was back in his arms:

This is one of the things I love most about Pennsylvania -- the idyllic countryside:

I heart farms:

There were still many more playtime opportunities for the cousins:

These are the pictures that we're going to show them when they're like 25 years old, and it'll be so sweet (except for the fact that it looks like Weston is harassing Killian a little bit in this one):

Another strawberry-related delight of my trip -- Asher's annual Strawberry Days!!! For three days, Anne Marie and her coworkers sold hundreds and hundreds of hand-dipped chocolate strawberries. Fortunately, there were always leftovers by closing time, so we got to enjoy them at home! OH HEAVEN!!!!!!!

After Jerebrett's last day of school, we all celebrated by going out to Friendly's. I snapped the most adorable picture of Killian, peeking over the booth at Gangy:

Here's my dad with Weston on one of our four (yes, FOUR) visits to Merrymead during my trip. (I would've gone every day if I weren't slightly concerned about early onset heart disease.) Weston loves his Grandpa and Grandma!!

Of course we needed a picture with the wooden-cow-height-thingie:
Weston loved loved loved the child-sized automatic sinks at the exit from the farm animal area. Each time we went, my dad and I would end the visit by sitting at a picnic table and chatting, while Weston would go in and out and in and out of the wash house, where he was absolutely obsessed with these sinks:
Weston enjoyed lots of time with Uncle Chris, too. Check out the action shot!!
And here are Weston and Grandalf. My heart just melted:
It was such a great trip. We can't wait for August!!!