Aug 29

There Are No Words

Blog No Comments »

Actually, there are all sorts of words. Around a quarter million in the English language, if you believe this article. But I don’t think there are any words adequate to express the excitement in the Christensen house since we heard “THE news.” I won’t make you hold your breath – mostly because I’m so excited about it. ALISHA. IS. MOVING.

And not just moving – she is moving to MISSOURI! I don’t know how we convinced her, but we have done it! Actually, she just (finally) felt like it was the right thing to do. And our whole family is super grateful every single day – we’re totally counting down, but trying not to. 16 weeks sounds a lot better than 121 days. If you’re going to get technical, we’ve rounded the weeks down. Don’t get technical – it seems longer. She’ll be out here at the end of December. Merry Christmas to us! I can’t think of a better present. If you can, we don’t need to know about it – this is all the happiness we need.

Tagged with: • • • • •
Aug 12

Alisha Lives Vicariously

Blog No Comments »

Alisha might be my mother’s favorite child. If you doubt me, take a look at the screenshot of Alisha’s facebook wall. (You can make it bigger if you click on it.) I mean, it’s not like I am seeing Mom every day, but who gets the facebook message? Uh huh. What happened to the whole candy bar talk?

Oh well. Fair or not, at least I have the satisfaction that Alisha lives in Missouri vicariously through my blog. (And no, that’s not narcissism talking. She told me. So unless you’re calling her narcissistic…) Of course, I would trade that satisfaction in a heartbeat if she’d move out here. Via the blog, I’m her official updater until we convince her to move. (See Dad, this whole “living your whole life online” is not so bad.)

So, continuing with the reasons that Alisha should move here…

  • I discovered the BEST artisan ice cream place. Ever. And it’s right near my house. Pineapple-cilantro sorbet? Yes, it sounds totally weird. And it’s amazing.
  • In the same week, I discovered KC’s own version of my favorite frozen yogurt hotspot in Vegas. Except better. Also right near my house. (I knew moving was a good idea.) I’d highly recommend the Pomegranate Yogurt with kiwi, strawberries and pineapple. It hits the spot every time. Plus, you pay by the ounce – you can make it the perfect size for you. No small, medium, or large issues to deal with.
  • You could come with me to the MoBar Family Law Conference and hang out at the Lake while I attend seminars all day. The shopping’s good too – outlets galore! You’ve got time to plan – it’s next August.
  • Road trips. The latest was this past weekend to McPherson, Kansas. I drove from the MoBar Family Law Conference to pick up the kids from vacation at our Aunt & Uncle’s house. I know, it’s shocking, but we don’t go to McPherson just for the sightseeing. Unless you count “seeing” our darling cousins. Then we are totally guilty of going there for the sightseeing.

Since getting back from the MoBar Family Law Conference this week, I’ve been working around the clock. But those are a few of the simple pleasures that are a part of life here in KCMO. C’mon Alisha… don’t you want to be a part of it?

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
Aug 01

Just Call Me An Antique

Blog 3 Comments »

Wahoo! Today I’m celebrating. Well, actually I’m celebrating all month, because that’s how I roll. I highly recommend that when you have a birthday, you celebrate all month too. I can’t take credit for that brilliant idea. It’s a suggestion I got from a friend of mine a long time ago and it means the month of August totally rocks every year. I’ve officially reached “antique” status. For those of you who don’t speak the language of my 2.0, that means I’m now 25 years old. Don’t fault her for the whole “antique” thing – she’s only 11, so 25 is bound to sound ancient.

There are so many blessings in my life! In honor of turning 25 today, I thought I’d list 25 things that I’m grateful for. Yep, this is going to be a long list. Deal with it – it’s my party, and I’ll write what I want to.

  1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ and my membership in His Church
  2. Mom
  3. Dad
  4. Alisha
  5. Logan
  6. Jessie
  7. Reece
  8. Wade
  9. Sam
  10. Cassie
  11. My law degree from BYU
  12. Running my own law firm
  13. Living in KCMO
  14. Cute running clothes
  15. The color blue – that totally bright, really happy blue.
  16. Cupcakes
  17. Country music - Trace Adkins, Carrie Underwood, Justin Moore, Jason Aldean, Jaron & the Long Road to Love… all those good people.
  18. Four Inch Heels
  19. The Piano
  20. Scented Candles
  21. Calla Lilies
  22. Italian Food
  23. Texas Roadhouse Rolls
  24. Men who open doors
  25. Big dreams. And little dreams. Just all sorts of dreams.

I picked up a card a little while ago. There’s a quote on it and it’s how I’m determined to live. “This is your world. Shape it or someone else will.”

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Jul 17

Alisha Looks Like A Birthday Party

Blog 1 Comment »

I just looked at the calendar. It’s the 17th, can you believe it? How did we get to the 17th with only ONE blog post for the month?! Maybe it’s time to create a blogging schedule. I’d say I don’t like schedules, but my mom might call me a liar. After all, I’ve always had some sort of long term schedule going – but I call them “plans” so it doesn’t feel quite so rigid. So maybe what I need is a blogging “plan.” Whatever we call it, I think I need something so I can avoid facebook messages of “get crackin’ on your blog!” Yes, that is a  direct quote. Sort of. From Alisha. Really though, I could blame the lack of posts this month on my darling sister Alisha.

My youngest sister Cassie turned 10 this month. That’s right, there are NO Christensens left in the single digits! (Actually, I’m sure there are, but none in OUR immediate family. Christensen is a pretty common last name after all.) Alisha came all the way from Utah to be Cassie’s birthday surprise. Kind of fitting, seeing that Cassie is Alisha’s 2.0. (Yes, Cassie, when you look at Alisha you can see yourself in 12 years. Count your blessings.) It was so much fun to see Alisha, and then she left. Meanie. We are still working on that list of reasons why she should move out here. If anyone wants to add to it, PLEASE do. We can use all the help we can get. If you’re looking to add to a list of reasons why she shouldn’t move, please keep those comments to yourself. No one wants to hear them.

While you think of reasons for Alisha to move, I’m giving you a few more… Alisha, please pay attention.

  • Dad built you a boat. Yes, I’m sure it was all for you, even if he’s been out fishing in it every day with the 2.0s. It would be rude if you didn’t use it at least weekly, and how are you going to do that living in Utah? The boat is obligated to stay on the family pond – it sinks otherwise, I’m sure. Especially if it’s in Utah.
  • Yogurt! is more fun to play in Missouri. For all of you people out-of-the-know, Yogurt! is a weird game Alisha taught us when she was out here. You know the game “Slug Bug”? Yogurt! is kind of like that, except you don’t hit people. You just call out “Yogurt!” when you see a yellow car. Infinitely more fun than Slug Bug. (Or maybe I just think that because I’m better at Yogurt! than Slug Bug.)
  • You can play the guitar in my postcard ANYTIME you want to. I know, I’m so generous.
  • KC has the coolest old houses.
  • UCM has your program. At least close to your program. So you could finish studying close to me.
  • I will make you cupcakes on your (real) birthday. AND on your fake birthday. But I won’t make them so often that you get fat.
  • And finally…. I love you! We all love you! All of us now-double-digit Christensens LOVE you! And we miss you already. So come home soon.


Tagged with: • • • • • •
May 09

Let Me Count The Ways

Blog 2 Comments »

Okay, so I know I told you I was the baddest bad apple of the Christensen family. I lied. Yes, I am admitting it right here in print, to be googled and everything. Actually, I didn’t REALLY lie. I just didn’t explain myself fully. Or, as Logan puts it, I told you a “really good story” and just didn’t tell you if it was true or not. (Yes, he can say that with a straight face. Don’t ask me how.)

My MOM is the baddest bad apple in our house. Since she wasn’t born a Christensen, I can still claim to be the baddest bad apple of the Christensen family. (Like that argument? It’s a little flimsy for a lawyer, but I’ll argue it anyway.) We all love her. You want reasons? We’ve got them. And much like the Alisha post, this is from everyone.

  • She dances in the kitchen.
  • And in the living room.
  • And in her studio.
  • And anywhere else. What can we say? She’s got rhythm, and when she hears a good song, she can’t help but move. It’s a trait she passed on. Everyone dances at our house. Except Dad. Obviously, he was not so lucky to have Mom pass on that gene to him. It just doesn’t work that way.
  • She’s fun to sit on.  In fact, this is Reece’s favorite thing to do. I’m not positive that it’s Mom’s favorite thing, but she humors him. She even tells him he’s her favorite child. That is, of course, a lie. *I* am her favorite child.
  • She’s a rockstar. Especially after she gets her hair done. And yes, she can totally do the headbanging moves. If you’ve ever seen Alisha or Cassie, this is also a genetic trait.
  • She let us have cake on Sunday for breakfast when I was growing up. You know, so we’d look forward to Sundays. Since we couldn’t play outside or do other weekday sort of things, it was definitely a bonus. Sometimes we’d have ice cream instead of cake. And sometimes we’d have both. (And sometimes we still do that sort of thing. We love Sundays at our house.)
  • She’s an excellent painter. And she’s used us for models for a lot of her paintings. Except for Logan and Reece, who are not quite as beautiful as the rest of us. Or they just won’t hold still long enough. You be the judge.
  • She’ll stay up all night talking to us. Or she’ll stay up all night working on a project. She’s a night owl. I definitely did NOT get that gene. Samantha and Reece, on the other hand, definitely got it. Jealous.
  • She loves our Dad. Like crazy. We know, who wouldn’t?

You can see, there are all sorts of reasons that she’s the baddest bad apple. We could keep going, but we’d be at it all day. And since it’s Mother’s Day, we’re trying to spend a little bit of it with her. We love her. What more can we say?

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • •
Apr 27

Reece’s Last Stand

Blog Comments Off

I totally took down Sam tonight. Okay, maybe bragging about taking down an 11 year old should be above me. “Should be” is the key phrase. We ARE almost the same height, if that makes any difference. But she’s fast – I was pretty proud of myself for catching her. We all played capture the flag tonight – Logan, Jessie, Reece, Wade, Sam, Cassie and I. It’s so nice having a family big enough to play a game like that. (And personally, I think the “little kids” are awfully lucky that they have such bad apple older siblings who are willing to play with them. “Little kids” is what we used to call Reece, Wade, Sam and Cassie. Now that Reece and Wade are both bigger than me – and the 2.0s are getting close! – it seems like it doesn’t really fit.)

Let me lay it out for you – Reece, Wade, and I versus Logan, Jessie and the 2.0s. We had a definite strategy on our team. (Of course, laying it out here might put us at a disadvantage for next time, but I’m pretty sure that they caught onto what we were doing.) Basically, I guarded OUR flag and the boys went after THEIR flag. And we captured their flag three times. It was when we varied from that strategy that we ran into problems. (It could have had something to do with the fact that Jessie wasn’t around for the first two games either, but Logan and the 2.0s should have been able to take us.)

You see, I’m not faster than Logan. Have you seen that man? What was I thinking? Of course, at the same time I was thinking that I could be faster than Logan, Wade also thought he was faster than Jessie. And most of the time Wade is. But somehow Jessie caught him. (Don’t worry Wade, I’m sure it was a fluke.)

Enter Reece’s last stand. Surprisingly enough, he lasted for quite awhile against the four of them while Wade and I watched. Finally I got up and took a few pictures – totally against the rules, but really, what were they going to do about it? He did look a little crazed by the time they were done with him. See his picture above if you don’t believe me. And see the rest of our pictures to see how much fun we all have together. (ALISHA, this is reason number 2491.)

PS – Notice that Sam and I ARE really close to the same height.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • •
Apr 02

Reason No. 6439: We Hula Hoop In The Living Room

Blog 2 Comments »

Attention Alisha: If this doesn’t convince you to move to Missouri, we really don’t know what will. Take a look at our adventures. (Dad, don’t look. This is what we do when you’re out of the country. We promise to put the furniture back before you get home.)

Just in case you were wondering (and if you were wondering, you obviously have never been to our house), we are not just posing for pictures – we really had hula hoops out tonight in our living room. We all took turns. After all, three hula hoops take up an awful lot of room! Mom even got in on it. But don’t worry – I still reminded them all who the oldest (i.e. MOST powerful and DEFINITELY in charge) is. In the words of Reece – That’s. What’s. Up.

Tagged with: • • • • •
Mar 25

Logan and Alisha

Blog 3 Comments »

Every so often, my brothers and sisters make me laugh. Well, it’s more like “often” instead of “every so often.” You could also say “frequently.” If you’re looking for more words, use the thesaurus.

Anyway, I was in the kitchen this week listening to Logan talking on the phone to Alisha. They’re only eleven and a half months apart – for those of you who aren’t math (or pregnancy) geniuses, that means for two weeks they’re the same age. Fun, huh? (Well, maybe not so fun if you were my mom. But fun now that they’re older.)

This is the conversation I walked into:

Logan: But you like olives!  I remember you used to put them on your fingers and eat them!

Quiet for two seconds while he listens to Alisha.

Logan: Oh, that’s right.  You used to put them on your fingers and I would eat them.

It made me laugh. The greatest part? The conversation seemed perfectly normal.

Tagged with: • • • •
Mar 14

Happy Birthday Alisha

Blog 1 Comment »

Just kidding. Alisha’s birthday is November 30th. But that didn’t stop us from gathering around the table today to sing “Happy Birthday!” to her answering machine. Yes, really. We are sometimes crazy like that. We totally missed her (we miss her all the time, but we missed her extra today) and we thought that was the best way to let her know. Thinking about it though, it was probably not the best idea. After all, she might think that we don’t remember when her birthday actually is. Oops.  She’s been busy compiling reasons NOT to move to Missouri – this CANNOT count as one of them (I can just see her now – Reason No. 1285: my family does not remember my birthday), and here are a few reasons that she SHOULD move to Missouri. (Contributed by the family, still sitting around the table after singing “Happy Birthday!”)

  • Cassie will give you a puppy. Dad will throw in a full-grown dog.
  • Wade will sing “Happy Birthday!” to you every day.
  • You could camp on Mom & Dad’s couch and save money for a down payment for your Victorian House – Dad says you could get one for around $400 a month! You could maybe even skip the camping out on the couch with all the programs to try and get people in houses.
  • Free food on the weekends (per Mom).  No, she is not committing to weekdays.
  • Reece. Is. Here.
  • We can sing together – no one plays the guitar as well as you.
  • Cassie will do your chores.
  • Sam will paint your nails.
  • We love you.

Just promise you’ll think about it. Because we miss you. And Happy Birthday!

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
Mar 06

The Animals Came Alive

Blog 1 Comment »

Just kidding. The animals didn’t come alive – the 2.0s and I were smart enough to go to the museum during the day. (What, you’ve never seen Night at the Museum? Well, WE have and WE played it safe.)

I’ve discovered it’s easy to keep the title of “BEST SISTER EVER.” No, I did not give myself that title. I totally earned it. Just ask the little girls, who proclaimed it today. (Sorry Alisha and Jessie. I’m the oldest, and I’m likely to keep it.) Today, the rest of our family (minus Logan, who had to study, and Alisha, who is busy in Utah compiling reasons that she should NOT move to Missouri) headed to Nebraska today to attend the Winter Quarters Temple. (Alisha, you can’t count the long drive to a temple as reason number 1309 because we are getting a temple in KC. Scratch that off your list.) Once a temple’s dedicated, you need a recommend to attend it, and little kids can’t get recommends.  You can find out more about temples here or here, if you’re curious. The temple in KC will have an open house for whoever wants to come see it before it’s dedicated.

Since Sam and Cassie can’t go yet, someone had to keep an eye on them. I volunteered and we decided we’d make a girls day of it. It was SO fun! The 2.0s put together a soundtrack for our adventures (iTunes is a wonderful thing), we put it in the CD player, and we were off to Kansas City. They got to check out my new office (loved it!), went to Union Station (to pick up my mail, but they thought it was the coolest building ever), to the Nelson-Atkins (my favorite museum in KC, which is now their favorite too), and to Miller Park (where we ate the picnic they prepared and they ran around for ages). It. Was. Great.

And the whole “best sister ever”? Don’t tell the girls, but I already know who really has the title. Here’s a hint – it’s a tie between four people. Alisha, Jessie, Sam and Cassie have me all beat. For now though, I’ll claim it. After all, isn’t that the point of being the oldest?

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Previous Entries
preload preload preload