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...

Wisdom Teeth and Text Messages

I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday (Friday). What a fun time. Mom and I got to the Maxillofacial Clinic about 2:10, when my appointment was at 2:30. She filled out the paperwork and we sat in there... and I shivered from both nervousness and because I was freezing my butt off. I also dozed a little, but woke up and decided to stay awake after one of the nurse ladies walked by and I woke up to her staring at me with a funny look on her face. What a weird lady. Then they called my name, and I had to take off my coat and gloves and go back into another room with mom.

In this room, the lady made me hold still with my face in a weird position so that she could x-ray my mouth. Then she asks me a few questions and I'm still shivering because this room was even colder than the waiting room. THEN she hands me mouthwash and tells me to swish it for 20-30 seconds. This is the same mouthwash they have you use after you get your teeth out. It burned my gums and made me gag a little. It was rather gross. Then Dr. Van Dam comes in, looks in my mouth even though the x-rays are on every screen in the room, starts telling me about every little thing that could go wrong, and then tells me not to panic. How nice of him.

A wonderful lady came in the room to get me after Dr. Van Dam left. Her name was Sheila (I'm surprised I remember that) and she seemed like a genuinely nice person. Turns out, she was. I was surprised. Not at all like the dental hygienist ladies who seem to think it's hilarious to poke you in the gums with sharp, pointy tools and sarcastically ask why you're flinching. (Speaking of which, I found out yesterday during band by one of my fellow Clarinet friends who has the same dentist, that one of our dental hygienist ladies was murdered by her boyfriend who then committed suicide afterwards. What a great story, right? Not.)

Anywho, she takes me back to where they're going to remove my teethies, and starts getting me all ready. Keep in mind I was incredibly nervous by this point in time, and this room was even more cold than the two previous ones. It sucked, because I don't shiver, I have convulsions. She asks me which arm would be better for the IV. Because I've always had people have trouble with my left arm, I say she should use the right arm. She tried to, of course. I now have three little holes in my arm because I have "hard veins" and every time she tried to get the needle in there, they would move off to either side and not hold still. She then tried to find a vein in my right hand, but doesn't even try to put the needle in when she took a look at my hand, and decides that those veins are too small. Left arm worked on the first try.

So she puts the needle in my arm and tapes it down, but doesn't start the IV. Instead, she puts weird sticky circle things on my arms and a blood pressure cuff on my left arm, puts an oxygen tube in my nose (BLECH) and has me take some deep breaths. Then, I'm dozing off when the IV hasn't even started yet (I was tired, what can I say?) And I hear someone say something, so I open my eyes, my eyes won't focus, and I don't remember anything else until I woke up.

I woke up a bit faster than most other people do, according to the lady who shook me awake gently in yet another room that didn't even look remotely familiar. She offers me a drink, and I decline, not realizing that I actually really wanted one. So I start to move myself around, I can't feel the lower half of my cheeks, my chin, my tongue, or my lower lip, although I could feel my upper lip for some reason. I promptly got yelled at to hold still and wait for help to sit up. I hadn't really thought it would be a problem for me to do on my own, seeing as I was still in the chair, and there was no chance that I would fall down, seeing as I was already down. Still. Got yelled at. How mean.

I then ask to be helped up into a standing position, after I realized that sitting up, and the more elevated I was, the clearer the head I had. So I do ask for some water, and am helped up, and right out of the room. I get passed off to mom, she walks me out to the car, and we head to Safeway. I made her take me through Safeway with her, and she held my hand all the way inside the door and to the soup aisle. Then she let go. How nice. I was doing fairly well all on my own though. She goes to get the prescriptions filled, then we buy soup, go back to pick up and pay for the prescriptions, and then go home.

At home, I went upstairs and decided to relax. I was texting people, but it wasn't really a problem at that time. Eventually I took a nap, get woken up around 7:40 (didn't get home until after 5) and I go downstairs for food. I got some tomato soup and my antibiotic medication and some painkillers down, and while we are waiting for them to kick in, we have family scripture study and prayer. After prayer, mom and dad and I were still kneeling on the floor. Mom complained that dad should get a tissue due to the fact that he had a booger. He then turned to me (I had fresh gauze in my mouth at this time and could only really mumble what I wanted to say) and turned his head up so I could see right up his nose, and asked if he had a boogie. I told him it looked more like a waltz to me, and both mom and dad cracked up, while I tried not to smile due to the fact that it hurt.

Then I wandered upstairs and took a shower. Sitting in my bed, I put a passcode on my phone so that I wouldn't be able to text anyone while I was on the pain killers and while I was tired. If only that had actually worked. Poor, poor Marcus and Logan got messages from me, and they didn't make any sense at all. Marcus got lucky and got only one message, Logan wasn't so lucky and got three. Waking up this morning and reading them? I was confused, to say the least.

The one I sent to Marcus said this:
"If cats could live in shoe pnats, would shoe pijs be som water el?"

Whatever that says. I have no idea. Now, the ones I sent to Logan, on the other hand, made even less sense.
Here's the first one:
"Singing kit kat cark syleh tired?"

And then one immediately after that:
"Night to you slepp dreams tomrow see drive?"

To which he texted back saying: "What?"
And I replied: "?,!i" And passed out. I woke up to a reply from him saying:
"lol go home Caitlyn, you're drunk."

Whoops. That was all my adventures for the night though. I had tomato soup for breakfast, and tomato soup and cake for lunch. Have a nice day! -Caite