Biennial Update (A.K.A., It's Been A While)

As with most things that are fun, there comes a time where life decides you're having too much fun and you suddenly find yourself too busy to do the fun thing anymore. Such is the case with this blog. After a certain point, you start thinking, "Remember that fun thing we did? Whatever happened to it?"

So here we are, after two years and about twenty-seven different guesses as to what the stinking password is to log in. That means it's time for an update!

Ashley now has another kid! We think she is the cutest thing since her first kid, and everyone is just smitten with her big eyes and all the cute little faces she makes. J is now an active little boy, and the last time Emily got to visit she promised him she'd take him to the feed store and show him the baby chickies. Unfortunately, they didn't have the chicks out yet and you can't promise something to a two year old and then not deliver. We were walking around the feed store with J yelling, "CHICKS, WHERE ARE YOUUU??" Which of course, was hilarious for anyone who heard.

 J yelling in his little sister's face

 Fortunately, Mom (Ashley) got to take him to the feed store later that week after Emily had to leave and it seems that Emily created a monster. He loved the chicks so much, after he woke up from his nap later that day he apparently started putting his shoes on and wanted to go back to the store to see the chicks. He started crying when Mom (the meanie) said no. Sorry, Ashley. That's what aunts are good for. We plant ideas in their head that usually cause problems, even if I'm not there.

J loves the chickies!

Oh, and Ashley is doing good as well. She teases us all the time that when we ask how she is doing, we're really asking how her kids are doing. She's been learning how to juggle having two kids and survive on whatever sleep she can get, but other than that she has been making cupcakes and going to the Discovery Center and volunteering at the YMCA and basically making me feel bad whenever I procrastinate homework or sleep in. 

Their family still lives in South Dakota, about three hours away from KT. Since Emily lives about two states away, its been far too long since us three sisters have had the chance to get together. Since about Thanksgiving, actually.

Thanksgiving! With a pregnant Ashley...

Emily has been doing good as well. I'm getting ready to graduate college with a degree in Animal Science and a minor in Agribusiness, and I have been full time job hunting. It's been stressful and on top of it all, I've got senioritis really bad. The spring sunshine has been awful for getting homework done. Spring break (where I got to go see Ashley and her family, and then later that week see KT) only made it worse.

However, I am certainly enjoying my last semester and I'm excited to walk in May. A lot of my friends keep telling me that they don't want to walk because it seems silly, but I plan on walking and making everyone sit through the entire ceremony to support me, because doggone it I just spent several years of my life getting to this point and people can come and sit there and be bored and like it. I'm just kidding (mostly), but I am really excited to finally graduate and get a big kid job with a salary and benefits and everything. I stole a line from a friend to answer the question, "What are you planning on doing when you graduate?" (The dreaded question, because I don't know and you're stressing me out every time you ask.) He would always answer, "Take a nap," which I think is a brilliant and a beautiful answer.

KT is doing great as well. I got to see her during my spring break, as mentioned earlier, and we went to the water park (our younger brother's doing) and had a blast. My favorite moment was watching her and her husband come out the bottom of the water slide on a double inner tube and seeing KT wipe out as they hit the water. We also enjoyed chasing each other around the lazy river.

She recently cut her hair and it is super cute as always. I don't think there is a single other person in our family who could pull off hair as short as she has hers and manage to look like a super model. I think it's because her hair is curlier than everyone and she has those big blue eyes, or maybe she just ended up with all the good genetics in our family and I'm in denial. And don't worry about Ashley, I'm pretty sure she'll back me up in this.

Seriously, those eyes...

 KT's cats are hilarious. I don't think we've mentioned them in any post before (I will leave that to KT to post something later about this) and I just want the world to know what hilarious cats she has. She's trained them to lay down and roll over for treats, or something like that, and she's mentioned how one of them will stick his paw under the door while she is in the shower, shake the door until it pops open, and then join her in the bathroom. I think it's only fitting that she has cats as hilarious as she is. Her sense of humor only seems to get better and better.

KT's sense of humor

Apparently her cat will only sleep on the bed when it's upside down.

Hopefully it won't be Thanksgiving again until we get to see each other. We always have way too much fun together and I'm sure it'll only get worse (I mean, better) as the years go on.

Sister Updates!

Wow, it has been a long time since any of us posted. Whoops. Life happens?

Ashy has been busy chasing after a now-mobile little boy, and her hubby is enjoying his new job. They're having trouble with their first landlord, he has been ignoring them so he doesn't have to pay their deposit back, but they're trying to hunt him down. Nothing like learning some life lessons the hard way... Otherwise they are doing well, feeding and teaching with the missionaries and fulfilling church callings and enjoying lots of wedding and home renovation shows on television. And chasing after a now-mobile little boy. (Did we say that already?)

Meema finished her summer job at the scout ranch and already sorely misses the wide open space, the horses and burros, and spending her days outdoors. Now she is back at college, working on her degree in Animal Science with a minor in Agribusiness, hiking stairs instead of mountains and reading books instead of shoeing horses. On top of it all, she traded her truck in for an impala! But she will still be the same old Meema.

KT is working hard (or hardly working??) at her job. She has been promoted to manager, so she was able to keep from working a second job. Her fiance is working too, and they are planning on getting married at the end of May. We're pretty sure she wears the pants in that relationship! Her fiance is very nice, he takes care of her and they support each others' interests.

We're excited for what 2014 will bring all of us!

Meema's Summer Job

It's Meema's turn to post, but she is currently busy and so I'm going to make a post for her.

This is Meema... Thanks to Ashley for posting for me, and now I'm going to just add a few comments throughout the post. My comments will be in this lovely color.

She's currently in New Mexico at a scout ranch, and she's having a blast. Don't believe me? Here's the proof:

I'm quite disappointed in the so called "dancers" around here. Sometimes I really wish I had a dancing partner who knew how to dance like I do so I could show all these people what they're missing out on.

 

 

The above picture shows my hand after a day of shoeing and before stitches... The bandaid is where I was punctured with a nail and it bled badly but once it stopped it was just fine. The duct tape is a redneck bandaid... Duct tape over paper towel. Both duct tape spots were where I skinned my finger and wanted to stop rubbing it on things as I worked.

   

Also, I love Mom. So concerned about me, yet not about herself. What are mothers for? I was quite touched that she was going to come "patch me up". Honestly, I'm so tan now and get dirty so fast that I don't think anyone would recognize me. In this picture below, you can see how dirty my knuckles are, and that's after I washed my hands... We work all day in the wind and dust and it shows. 

 

Needless to say, Meema is having a blast down in NM. What a goober!

I don't know about the goober part, but I sure am having fun! It always feels good to work hard and accomplish things! 

2013 Is Flying By...

Holy canole, kids, it's March. March! Where is this year going??

After 2 years of school, school, and more school, (to the point where we still can't come up with a family Christmas ornament to represent last year,) the Yockeyite end of the family is anticipating some HUGE changes....
-One more month until we both graduate with our undergrad degrees
-Hopefully one more month until we know if Husband makes it into the Master's program
-Four more months until the Yockeyites expand from two to three
-Six or seven months until we move to... somewhere. (Hopefully to where his Master's is.)
-Eight months until we celebrate three years of being married

Right now, the biggest thing that's going on is me. Literally. (Hahahaha!) Gummy Bear is getting bigger and bigger, (I think (s)he weighs around a pound by now? Ish?) and (s)he has been VERY active. The other night, right before bed, Husband and I were watching my tummy ripple as (s)he moved around. As my baby bump gets bigger, the funniest things happen! I bump the bump on lots of things, including bathroom stall doors and pan handles, and I'm ALWAYS getting crumbs on it. I have aches and pains, but Husband has been giving me little massages here and there to help, because he's amazing.

I'm super interested in how (s)he reacts to sounds, especially music, and the last organ concert was a really funny experience. I'm sitting there, and the third piece the guest organist played was by Louis Vierne, the Intermezzo and Finale from his Third Organ Symphony. About halfway during the Intermezzo, which was kind of light and pretty, I felt Gummy Bear moving around, consistently in the same spot, and I think (s)he was dancing! It was the weirdest thing! But then the Finale started, and suddenly there was full, loud organ with booming pedal parts, and Gummy Bear stopped moving instantly. No movement. I think the loud organ scared him/her!

We've also been playing Minecraft in the evenings, if I do my homework, and Gummy Bear likes to move around while we play. I don't know if (s)he likes the sounds of it or what, though, but (s)he's always active anyways!

I'm not really obsessed with buying clothes or toys or stuff, the only things we have are random things we've gotten from other people. Around graduation we'll probably start getting a few things, like a carseat or something... I don't know, there's really no space in our apartment to put cribs and tables and dressers and the whole shebang, and when we move we'll probably lose half the space we have now! Gummy Bear will probably just live in white onesies for the first month.

Something I am obsessed over is names. I LOVE looking at baby names! We like doing what Mom and Dad did, where the kids have their own first names, and then family names for middle names. We haven't decided whether the girls will get middle names yet. I'm always looking for unique names, (but not weird or wonky ones,) and we definitely are not going for gender-neutral names. We have this HUGE list of names that we thought we liked but aren't sure of yet. I think I'm going to go through withdrawals when we actually have to pick one!

People go crazy when I tell them we're not finding out Gummy Bear's gender, too. I've gotten surprised reactions, good-for-you reactions, upset reactions, incredulous reactions, every kind of reaction imaginable. I've learned from the couple of people who have touched my belly that they move VERY quickly, and I need to be faster on the lookout for wandering hands. (I still can't believe people do that, touch your belly without asking. It makes absolutely NO sense.) Being pregnant isn't that big of a deal in church, mostly, because I think literally half the women in the ward are pregnant (at least half... there are a ton). One of my favorite reactions is from a gal I had in one of my music classes a few semesters ago, she was walking by and saw my belly and said "Oh my gosh! When did that happen????" (Do you really want me to answer that...?)

It's been an interesting journey so far, and I'm sure there's more to come. I'm so excited for graduation, when I get to see our families and spend time together! I miss everyone so much, and I'm so jealous that Meema is getting to go home tomorrow. Husband should be home any minute now, and then we're going to go to the temple (where I'll find out if my dress still fits...). I love the chance to have a temple five minutes away!
-Ashy

Just Been Thinking

It's been a very long time since I've posted, so I just want to let you all know beforehand that I am going to say some very... well thought...thoughts. Or at least I feel like they're well thought.

Sometimes when I am alone or driving late at night I start to think. I think about how I could change either for good or for bad. I think about how I can change others, or/and how others can change me. I think about peer pressure and what it can cause people to do. I think about my friends, my family, my coworkers, and the people that i see going about their every day lives.

You see so many people every day who act like they're okay. However, everyone has problems, and I can guarantee that they have more than one. You and I, we definitely have our problems. Problems with ourselves, problems with our friends, problems with our family, problems with the world. We can even have problems with the people we meet.

We judge people so harshly sometimes, whether we know them or now. I know that I do. I also know that people tend to judge me for a lot of the things I do. I make mistakes, I know I do. And I know that others o as well. Nobody is going to be 100% perfect. We all have at least one fault.

We blindly put our trust and give our hearts to others. We know that there is a chance that we may or will get hurt. We know that our choices may be wrong. We know that some of the things we do may not be right. Yet we do them anyways. I know that I tend to not think much before I do things, and other times completely over think things to the point where I will panic and give myself anxiety.

I have my moments of being shy or being rude or being kind or smart. I do my best to be who I want to be, or who I feel like I should be. I don't necessarily do things right but I try. I try my hardest to be the best for every one. I try my best to help others and make them smile, or cheer up, or just feel better. I try to be the person who is there for every one, who can help when she's needed. Sometimes I can't help the person no matter how much I want to or how much I try. It hurts me when I can't.

I do my best to love everyone, even the people who may scare or intimidate me. It has been difficult, as I have forced myself very far out of my comfort zone to show some kindness to these people.

Sometimes I try to put myself out into the world. To see what I can do to help people in their everyday lives. I try to take a step back and look at the people around me.

So many people who also do their best to look past their problems and go about their days as if they were and are just fine. Yet sometimes I look at people and I can just tell and know that they are hurting inside. I just want to help them, to offer some comfort, and a lot of the time these are complete strangers to me!

They try to push past their problems but need a friend, need someone to help, someone who could just smile at them. I have seen so many peoples' faces light up when I smile at them. I've seen how grateful they are and how you can read it on their faces that they appreciate that smile, or that compliment, even though they might not know you.

For a brief moment, you have changed their day. Even if you are having a bad day, if you smile at those people who look like they too are having a bad day, you can definitely see how it changes them, and doing so you can feel it change you.


I feel as though I may have overthought all of this, and I apologize for rambling on, but I just thought I should share my thoughts.

Plus, it got Ashley off my back about posting in the sister blog.

So there, Ashley.

Love you all, Me.

What We Do in Our Spare Time, Part II

I just thought I'd let everyone know how random my sisters and I are. Here are some more of our texting conversations.

First, I will post the conversation that inspired me to post about it again. This is when I was talking to my little sister in the middle of me writing a 7 to 10 page paper. Alright, it was 7.

What a goof. She started it, and I played along. Long story short, it actually helped me finish my paper. For a time. Ashley, if you're reading this I know I told you to stop texting me because you were distracting me. This occurred before then, just so you know, I wasn't playing favorites.

Here are some more conversations with Caite. I would like to point out that from here to the end of the post, all these screenshots are parts of individual conversations. They're not one continuous conversation.

I love her. She's adorable. Each of these kind of came up as a random text message, usually while I was sitting in class. She'd text me, and I'd check my phone and just think, "Where in the heck did that come from??" Except for the middle conversation. That came from me, and was brought to you by Shel Silverstein and the number 3.

Here are some screenshots of my conversations with Ashley.

Again, random. I love her too. Also, in case Dan read this, no offense, dude, I'm just saying. She does have to live with you.

And here's a bonus conversation I had with Dad.

Also, let me correct a few things. I meant to say "gave" not "have", and I think Dad meant to say "cat that weighs" instead of "car thatvweighs". That's probably obvious, but you never know. I think he was texting while driving, which is something you should never do, kids.

I love my family! They're fantastic!

-Meems

Finals Ate the Yockeyites (Or At Least One of Them)

So nothing much is going on right now. I'm doing lots of homework. (I'm writing this when I should be working on an 8-10 page paper.) Husband is doing lots of sleeping and playing games. (Don't worry, he does wash the dishes too.) I'm really excited because school is done in a week and a half! WOOHOO! And then it's break and I can see family and go wear a tangerine-orange dress in a wedding and see family for Christmas! I'm SO excited for Christmas, you have no idea.

Tonight we're going to hear the Canadian Brass play. I think they're going to be joined by an orchestra and chorus. It's a Christmas concert so that will be so awesome! I'm excited.

Also, today, the first of December, we woke up to a thunderstorm in the morning. No snow. Go figure. Don't worry, we went back to sleep until about 1. Ish.

We got out Christmas decorations put up a week ago. I haven't turned off the lights since we plugged them in. Except for the ones around the tv, because LED Christmas lights make it difficult to focus on Mario Kart.

So... yeah. That's about it. Tons of homework next week, and then for the most part I'm done. And then it's ONLY ONE MORE SEMESTER TO GRADUATION! Wooohooooo!! Husband graduates then, too, but he has to take some more classes during Spring semester in preparation for his master's program. And then he has to actually do the master's program, unless they don't accept him. When I asked him what his plans were if he wasn't chosen for the program, he replied, "Whimper." Hopefully he will know soon in April if he's accepted.

I have to go put Christmas music on and do more homework now. Husband is giving me the look of sternness. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...