Anonymous Blog

I was commenting that I didn't have anything ever to blog about anymore because nothing in my life is that interesting. Well, then I decided I could put up some anonymous blogging fun!

You guys will never know who said these things or who owns these things! Don't ask...I won't tell!

Anonymous Blog #1:

(Setting) Discussing the recent hoax of the "sighted" Bigfoot.

Female: I hear you're really hairy too, we should call you Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

Male: I'm only hairy on my legs and arms.

Female:I hear your butt is hairy too.

Male: That's connected to my legs!

Anonymous Blog #2:

Can anyone guess what this is? Hint: it's called a "Little John" and it can be quite a hilarious topic of conversation and I admit that I have purchased one as a gift.

Anonymous Blog #3:

Just a fun conversation!

Jake: That lady is the neatest woman I know.

Emily: No she's not, I'm the neatest woman you know.

Jake: Oh yeah, you're right!

Dish Network Update

For those of you who are curious, here is my update! So I called in the morning and they told me they would be here at 4 pm. When I hadn't hear from them by 5 I called and they said a technician was on the way. When no one had shown up by 8 I called again and was told that they would email dispatch and I would get a call with the hour. When I called back at 9 after having recieved to no such promised call, I was told I had actually never had an appointment. I was seeing stars in all of my anger. I immediately began hording chocolate (yes, I lost a point!) to make me feel better. After a long set of anger filled calls and well over an hour on the phone I was told that they would "email dispatch" and request I get an earlier date than my newly scheduled August 23rd appointment. I really think I'm getting a hernia. May I highly recommend that no one ever, ever, ever, ever purchases Dish Network. I don't think it's healthy for me to re-live this experience so I'm going to close now. See ya!

Phillipinos & Dish Network

Phillipino's and Dish Network: a bad combination! A lot like oil and water. Now, I have no beef against most Phillipino's. My sister served a mission there and loved them and I've never personally had a problem with them. It's when they started messing with Dish Network that I got a bad taste in my mouth. We had the roof re-done so the Dish Network satellite was removed and then replaced and consequently no longer gets a signal. We've been desperately waiting for 2 weeks to get a technician out here so that we can watch the Olympics (we are HUGE fans!). Yesterday was the golden day that we had all been eagerly anticipating for 2 weeks. Our appointment was an 8-12 pm window. No show! I called at 12:15 and they said they would have someone there by 1:30 (when I had to leave). No show! I get a babysitter to come sit at the house and watch my kids so we don't miss the technician. Arrive home at 5:00. No show! Irate and furious!!!! I call again and I'm told they're in my area and will be there soon. So, Mom cancels our dinner appointment so she doesn't miss them. No show!! I call again at 7:30 and am assured that a technician is on his way. I tell them they're liars. Let's just say I forgot for a little while to be Christ-like. No show!! I finally call when it's pitch black and 9:00 and tell them I simply want them to admit they're lying and re-schedule me for the morning. They tell me they're next available appointment isn't until Sept 2! No way! I talk to the manager and he tells me that a technician reported that they came and we weren't home. What?? I just sat at home, or had someone here, for 14 hours waiting for that technician and I promised them we were home. They described our house and we realized that they went to our neighbors across the street who haven't lived in their home for 3 years. We have a stinking spotlight on our address--how can they miss it?? Then Dad gets on the phone and the flood of anger opens. He assures the man that nobody in the Phillipines can help us get a technician here in Brooks, GA. He demands an American # which they won't actually give him but they eventually connect him to. Poor Leo Avalos-our American equivalent of worthless help. We had about an hour long shouting match which he used to try desperately to prove that I wasn't Jennefer Tasker (which, I know, I'm not but he didn't know that)! Then he heard another mouthful from my Dad who assured him that he would forever be in my Dad's consulting presentations as the world's worst customer service rep ever! I actually started to feel bad for the villianious Dish Network because they were really getting it! Long, long and very frustrating story made short--we've been assured that there is a technician coming today at 4...do I believe them? Not for a second...but I'll let you know!!

A Pluthera of First's!!

I decided it was about time to update my blog. I have been so, so bad at staying updated and I'm sorry but ya'll will just have to get over it! So, I had some first's this last week that I thought I would inform the world of.

#1 First:
Luke's walking!! Haha! I'm totally kidding--he can't even support his chunky weight on his 2 arms. I've been trying desperately to get him to crawl but I seem to be doomed to failure concerning his mobilization, or lack thereof.

Real #1 First:
Coop and Luke got badly needed haircuts! It's the first hair cut I'm counting for Luke since Julie, my sister, decided that he needed a trim when I wasn't around a couple of months ago. I'm trying to block that memory from my mind so that I can still be civil to Julie. Post-Haircuts:

#2 First:

I had my first tea party with Cooper. I figured that since the tea set was blue it was more manly therefore okay to photograph for posterity!

#3 First:
I was showering and when I got out Cooper pointed to my chest and said "Ball!". I quickly realized that my days of being naked in front of him should probably come to a swift end. I was flattered, however, that I resembled a ball, I thought I looked more like a deflated kickball!

Those are my first's...not too much to brag about. Have a great week and I hope to have another update before the end of the month.

5 Year Celebration!!

Well, we did it! Congrats are in order! We lasted 5 years and 2 and a half kids and are still alive! We spent the weekend celebrating in Gatlinburg, TN. Actually, get this girls, Jake planned everything and surprised me--I didn't even know where we were going for the entire 5 hour drive! Pretty impressive, huh? He booked us at a FABULOUS Bed and Breakfast set in the picturesque Smoky Mountains. It was beautiful! They had 2 ponds stocked with fish, hiking and biking trails, bikes, volleyball, croquet, hammocks, ping pong, pool, movies, games, and spectacular food. It was great! We had a blast touring the town of Gatlinburg and getting our fill of Ripley's Believe it or Not adventures and had some heart-burning southern food every day! It was so fun but I missed my little boys so much I was itching to come back Sunday night. I loved coming home to such inviting arms. Overall feeling of the anniversary: I was glad to find that Jake and I still liked each other. You forget that sometimes in the hustle and bustle of parenthood. Isn't that sad?

This is underneath the B & B (you can barely see it on top) by the fire pit and one of the stocked ponds.

At Ripley's aquarium...they had the coolest shark display!

I love the pic of this shark, his mouth makes him look so happy and nice in it.

At Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. This dude is eating his nose with his mouth. Jake almost got it!

At Ripley's 36 hole golf course. You can't see it but I am holding up 4 fingers to signify my 4th Hole-in-One!! (Jake didn't get any:)) I did beat him by 4 points in the end...which is amazing!

Receipe for INSANITY

Since our lives seem to be so fun and hectic these days we thought we'd write our own little recipe for it. We've entitled it "The Recipe for Insanity". Here it goes:

12 times of moving

4 different states lived in

0 years of insurance

6 months of living with wonderful in-laws

5 years of no job security

2 kids only 14 months apart

and....

1 more on the way!!!

Yeah, that's what I said--one more on the way! We are going to add yet another boy to our pack here on January 6th! That is only one year apart from our little Luke. I'd call that a recipe for insanity!!

For those of you in total shock--I understand! We weren't suppossed to be able to have kids. I know! Somehow we've been blessed and you won't hear me complain about having 3 kids under 2 years and 2 months. I will take any offers for a live-in nanny, however! I am 15 1/2 weeks along and refused to tell anyone the good news until we heard the heart beat and we knew it was a "for sure" thing. Sorry!! We are very, very thrilled and excited to see all of the dropped jaws when I walk by stangers holding Cooper and Luke and then having a huge belly. Can you imagine?

Magnificent Mommy Moment

I had a really cool mommy moment last night. I got Cooper dressed to go to bed and Jake went out to feed Luke. Cooper always likes to pretend like he's going "nigh-night" in our bed. He lays down on the pillow and makes us put the covers over him...and then he gets really hyper and jumps around for a while. Well, last night it was late and he laid down and I just snuggled up to him and put my arm around him. I pretended like I was asleep for about a half hour. After looking at me numerous times he finally gave in and fell asleep. It was the coolest, coolest thing. For those of you who know Cooper, he is not a snuggler! One small leap for most babies, one giant leap for Cooper!
Here's a few candids: Cooper being cheesy and Luke showing off his new-found talent of sitting up!!

We Got Spirit, Yes We Do!!

We kick started the fun 4th of July holiday with our first ever annual Peachtree Road Race in Brooks, GA. We were all too lazy to drive up to ATL so Jim (fanatic runner brother-in-law) decided to set up our very own race. I'm telling you this race was a sight to behold! He had it marked with copper spray paint, even provided us with a half-way mark which actually was psychologically terrible since I thought I was more than half-way through when I got to that mark! There was an official water table with Gatorade and Powerade and a really cool freshly road-killed armadillo to entertain all of the kids. I headed up the cheering section since my toe isn't quite healed yet. The course was 6 miles but the catchy part was that you were just going to run up and down the same stretch of one mile road 6 times. Monotonous, eh? We chose to use the safe course for the sake of many roaming children. Besides Jim and Jennefer all of the other teams consisted of partners. I am very, very proud to say that Jake ran two legs of the race before dropping out in fear for his life with exhaustion!! I did walk one leg with a double stroller so I felt mildly proud of myself.

After the incredible race we all dove into the pool and only got out quickly to eat the delicious BBQ and drink all of the diet coke we could since our Resolutionary Challenge was lifted for a day in honor of our forefathers. We had a ton of fun and thoroughly enjoyed spending about 7 hours swimming.

The next day we hauled all of our bodies off to the Allred family farm! They have the most amazing set up! They have toys (motorized) galore, a fun pool, and more fun than a day can handle. Some would say we're spoiled, I would say we did a great job of enjoying our freedoms this weekend!!

Reluctantly Recounting

It has been so, so long since I have even looked at blogs, let alone worked on mine, that this post is very overwhelming to me. I have basically been out of town partying at one place or another for over 5 weeks now--closer to 8 weeks if you don't count a small 2 day reprieve at home. Not to complain...it has been so fun! But how do you do 8 weeks worth of fabulous adventures? I will try really hard to just condense it all and then start refreshed with more details on my future posts.

After we got home from Colorado we had a 2 day break at home immediately followed by a long flight to SLC and then Idaho Falls for grandpa's funeral. I would have loved, loved, loved to enjoy the funeral but Cooper had an episode in the "nursery" so I was stuck outside the chapel with him for the "what I heard was a wonderful" 2 hour funeral. I was mad...very mad. All of that effort and money to get there and pay tribute to my grandpa just to sit outside the door. Oh well!! It allowed me the opportunity to ponder on my own thoughts and memories of grandpa. After the funeral we flew to SLC for the burial and to say our final good-bye's.

This is Luke's birth mom and my cousin Melissa.

We stayed in SLC for a week at my aunt's empty house to bide time until the family reunion. We thought we would get bored but I had so much fun getting together with old friends, seeing Jake's family and our new nephew Austin, having fun at Gardner Village, making the obligatory father's day gift search at Cabela's, hanging out in the pool with family, and of course enjoying lots of Cafe Rio and Magelby's Fresh. We had a nice, relaxing time.

Friends and family.

Gardner Village

At the end of the week we rented a mini-van and drove to the family reunion in CO. Such a cool place!! We stayed in this 10 bedroom lodge that had 2 rushing rivers right outside the front door. Despite having to keep a CONSTANT eye on the kids and looking down the river first whenever I couldn't find Cooper, the location was perfect. It was nestled against a mountain and you felt like you were all alone in an outdoors utopia. So fun! We had such a nice time hanging out, biking, white water rafting, fishing, throwing rocks in the river, hot tubbing, playing games, and creating our own mini-Olympics. It was definitely a family reunion to remember! We woke up early on Thursday morning, hopped in the van, and drove right back to SLC just in time to fly home that afternoon. Needless to say, it was a VERY long day for everyone.

A few days after we got home we loaded into the Suburban and drove ourselves down to FL to go to the beach while the Sedgwick's visited from CA. We stayed there for a week and just arrived back in GA. Whew! I'm tired just writing that.

My "claim to fame" about this whole traveling ordeal is that I only lost 1 sippy cup in the entire 8 weeks of mass transportation!! How much talent does that take? You Mommy's know how hard it is to keep track of sippy cups!

So, now I have a week at home to recover and then I'm off to FL for one more week of fun with the Tasker family. Then Jake will officially have his family back. For those of you who are concerned about whether I'm doing all of this vacationing because Jake and I are having issues...don't worry! We are doing just fine. When Jake's dad heard how much we were apart he was really worried that we were separating or something. I had to laugh at that because that's probably what it looks like!

Oh yeah, and I broke my toe yesterday which just made my day after a long, tiring vacation. I guess no more exercising for me!! Hah! Just kidding!

I'm a Traveling Fool!!

We just got back from a week long trip to Colorado and I don't think that Cooper is ever going to forgive me for tearing him away from that place! Talk about a boy's dream! He had 3 male cousins all roughin' and toughin' it but still including him. He had a trampoline, swing set, forest, pool, cars galore, and enough toys to stock a children's museum. He had the time of his life playing outside almost all day long! I enjoyed having some freedom from Cooper...enough freedom to read the new Stephenie Meyer book, "The Host". It was a very relaxing vacation. Little Luke made his very own milestone--he learned to roll over from his back to his tummy! I can't wait for him to learn to roll back over so he stops screaming in discomfort! At the end of it we heard on the same day that my sister-in-law Jamie had her baby Austin (Congrats!) and that my grandfather had passed away. I have so many fond memories of him and all of his stories, but when they get to be 90 years old it's almost a relief for them to finally let go. We are heading to Idaho Falls for his funeral early in the morning and then sticking it out there for 2 weeks while we anxiously wait for the Jewkes Colorado Reunion. I am so, so excited!! It might be a while to my next blog due to my future transient state. We'll be in touch sooner or later! Having so much fun at the Denver Zoo with cousins. Now, according to Cooper, every animal neighs like a horse! At least he's associating sounds with animals!I swear this ape was playing Peek-a-boo!Our daily "shows" at the Tasker home. They were amateur to say the least, but we pretended they were as good as Les Miserables!

Luke giving a booty call after flipping on to his tummy. So cute!