Aug 01

Just Call Me An Antique

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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.”

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May 26

At Least I’m Tall Enough To Hit My Head

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Samantha (my 2.0) and I are about the same height. She’s 11. (I’m totally cheating in the picture – gotta love a great pair of four inch heels.) Shocking, I know, but given the fact that I quit getting taller right around age 12, I’ve got my fingers crossed that she gets there soon. I’m even hopeful that she gets taller than me, but don’t tell her. I’ve got to keep that whole dominate older sister persona intact. Of course, if you’ve ever read my blog, you know that EVERYONE is taller than me now except the 2.0s. Dominate older sister persona STILL intact, shortest one or not. No, I don’t weigh the same as I did when I was 12. That’s why I said I quit getting taller. Thank goodness I developed a few curves after the fact. Otherwise it’d be a little harder to pull off the whole “I’m an adult, I’m a lawyer, and you should listen to me.”

We were hanging out this week when Sam hit her head on an open kitchen cabinet door. Ever the optimist, she said “Well, at least I’m tall enough to hit my head!” Talk about a silver lining. That’s my 2.0. And I love her.

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May 15

Everyone Should Have a Romeo

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You thought we only had a Cowboy Casanova, didn’t you? Wrong! My little brother Wade (who is not really “little,” but he is 13 so I’m reserving the right to call him that) is the GQ Romeo of the Christensen household. Trust me on this. I chaperoned on his school field trip this week. “Romeo” is definitely the right name for him.

First, I think I’ve never met a 13 year old boy who’s cool enough to want his old lady sister to come help out on any field trip. Second, I’ve never met a 13 year old boy who’s cool enough to hang out with his 5th grade sister AT the same field trip. AND skate with BOTH OF THEM out on the roller skating rink. In FRONT of all his friends.

Those seventh grade girls TOTALLY swooned over him. And why not? Any smart girl knows that a man will treat his wife the same way he treats his mom and his sisters. (Well, there will be a few key differences, but don’t make me go into those here. Please.) Wade’s definitely got a few things figured out. I love him. TONS. Trust me, everyone should have a Romeo in their life. Or at least a brother like Wade.

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May 09

Let Me Count The Ways

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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?

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May 05

Life With The Christensens

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Sometimes my family surprises me. Well, “surprises” is probably not quite the right word. I know them, after all, and nothing that comes out of their mouth is that unexpected. Some days those phrases are lucky enough to turn into entire blog posts… other days, I write them down and save them for later. For example:

  • “What are those, pigs?” – Mom, the country girl. Not. We were driving past a field with a lot of GOATS in it when she asked the question. Granted, Mom was driving. But how do you get PIGS confused with GOATS?
  • “I see all the cow faces and it reminds me of Barry.” – Jessie (19), the REAL country girl, aka NOT Mom. Jessie works at a dairy (where she sees cow faces) and Barry is her boyfriend. Barry’s on a two-year mission in Fresno, California. Maybe he should be worried if Jessie’s reminded of him when she sees COWS. PS – Barry is not nickname-protected because Jessie has his real name on her own blog. Plus I don’t know what nickname we would use for him. “Jessie’s COWboy” would maybe work, given that she sees cow faces and thinks of him.
  • “You are not even CLOSE to a cow.” – Reece (16), the king of compliments. You know him as the Cowboy Casanova, but he can have more than one title. I was trying to figure out how much our cows weighed… when I said 125 (which is what I weigh) he informed me of the above “fact.” Oh – and at the time I said that, our cows weighed probably 300-350 lbs. Maybe 400 lbs.  Maybe I have a misconception about how 125 lbs looks. (And maybe Jessie should take a cue from Reece so that Barry doesn’t cry when he realizes that Jessie thinks of him when she sees cow faces.)
  • “When you turn 25, then you’ll be an antique!” – Samantha (11), commenting on my upcoming birthday in August. I wonder what that makes Dad (who hit the big 5-0 last October).  How do you get better- or older-  than “antique”?
  • “Dad, when you’re too old to remember, I’m going to sell the house and buy an RV. Then I’m going to take you all sorts of places.” – Cassie (almost 10), when talking about her “assignment” as the youngest child. That assignment? She’s taking care of them in their old age. We all voted, and she got the job. Maybe Dad should rethink that one. Unless he wants to go all sorts of places.

Can you see why I’m always laughing? Oh. Maybe you didn’t realize I’m always laughing. Trust me, it’s hard to stop with a family as fun as mine. I totally love them. And I’ve gotta admit – it’s a real relief to know that I’m nothing close to a cow, even if I’m going to be an antique soon.

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Apr 27

Reece’s Last Stand

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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.

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Mar 01

Blue Eyes and Dark Hair

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I’m a sucker for both. In fact, it’s my hands-down favorite combination. And check it out – these little babies have it. Introducing Hershey’s puppies, now about three weeks old. Aren’t they adorable? Duke is missing from the picture – he will be the new addition that stays at our house. The rest of them will be looking for nice homes in a few weeks. Mom’s got to draw the line somewhere, right? (So if you’re looking for a puppy, let me know.)

I’ve always been jealous of that light eyes, dark hair combination. My 2.0 got lucky with some gorgeous hazel eyes and hair that’s getting darker as she gets older. Me? I’ve got Boring. Brown. Eyes. Such is life. My mom was a sucker for brown eyes – said she could just get lost in my dad’s. Guess that’s part of why I got so lucky. I can hardly complain. After all, it’s nice to have parents that like each other, and since she’s still getting lost in those eyes, I’ll deal with my own. Besides, my hairstylist says they’re my most captivating feature. I’m not convinced – either way though, Manuel Garcia at Naturally Salon gives a great haircut and a fantastic head massage. So barring a way to make my brown eyes blue, I’ll settle for silky hair. Kind of like these puppies.

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Feb 19

A Girls Night… PLUS “The Man”

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I was on kid duty tonight. A voluntary thing, let me assure you. I like spending time with my siblings. Since Mom, Jess & Logan wanted to go see “Dear John” (I already saw it and enjoyed it – I LOVE Channing Tatum), I offered to watch the kids. Reece was away on a camping trip (who goes camping in the snow anyway?), so it was the 2.0s , Wade and I. Dad is in Brazil, but he gets back soon, wahoo!

At first we said we’d have a “girls night plus Wade.” He quickly corrected us – we were going to have a “girls night plus THE MAN.” And we did – a little popcorn, a movie, cupcakes and some nail polish. (The Man skipped out on the nail polish.)

This isn’t the first time this week that Wade has cracked me up. Mom and I were hanging out at the table while all the boys were being their usual crazy selves.  I said we needed to think of a word to describe them – without skipping a beat, Wade had one. “Sexy.” And then he walked out of the room.

Can I just tell you I love my life? Really, how could I not?

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Feb 10

I Heart You

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Yes, I said “heart.” NOT “hate”! Please make sure you’re listening. (Ahem. Reece.) For all of you that are oblivious to the month of February, Valentine’s Day is coming up. At FHE this week (you’ve heard about FHE before), our family talked about L-O-V-E.

My first memories of Valentine’s Day involved special Valentines on our kitchen table surrounded by great treats. (Thanks Mom!) For a couple of years, I didn’t realize that Valentine’s Day was a “romantic love” sort of holiday – I just thought it was a day where everyone made sure to tell the people they loved that they loved them. Really, you should be doing that on a pretty regular basis – how sad would it be if you saved all your telling for one day a year?!? I know that I’d never have enough time to make sure that everyone I loved knew it.

In the spirit of the holiday, this Monday night my siblings, mom and I spent the night making hearts for each other. (Dad is in Brazil, or he would have been making them too, don’t worry. He still likes us. Why on earth do you think he goes to work every other month?) We put them up on the doors in our house so that we’d all remember how much we love each other. (Kind of like texting - except better.)

Here are a few of my favorites…

Is it any wonder I heart my family?

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Jan 26

It Starts at an Early Age

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Samantha’s got a nickname. Actually, she and Cassie share a nickname. We call them “The 2.0s.” As in, the 2.0 version of a pretty good set to begin with – Alisha and I. (If we do say so ourselves.) Cassie’s fond of reminding us that they are the “new and improved” version. (Good luck with that, Cass. It’s a pretty high bar.) Anyway, if you look at the pictures Alisha and I have of growing up and compare us to Sam & Cassie, you’d sometimes be stuck wondering who was who. (Sorry, I don’t have an example to show you this instant. Lame, I know. But that would require going through some boxes of photos, scanning one in, and then uploading it. Too. Much. Work. For right now anyway.)

One thing that Sam and I both love? Spa treatments! Yes, it starts at an early age. She turned eleven this weekend and she wanted a spa day. We brought it to her. And if she ever says that Mom, Jessie or I don’t love her, I’m going to show her pictures of us scrubbing little ten year old feet for pedicures. Who would do THAT if they didn’t love her? PS – I’m just posting happy pictures. No need to relive any feet-scrubbing if we don’t have to.

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