what you've been waiting for, i know!

I found a bunch of videos online and watched SYTYCD episodes over, and over again. I am ready to post about my favorites. Seriously, there is nothing else on tv even worth watching this summer. Do you feel the same?

http://www.fox.com/dance/ (In case you want more info on the dancers.)

So here's the link for you to see the top 10; I will be talking about them in this post. The thing I very much don't like about the web site though is they don't post videos of the performances. I had to find them anywhere else I could. I'm sure there are copywrite laws and stuff, but come on-you have to see them. Good luck finding them. Here's the run down...

• Katee and Joshua: solid couple, dedicated to any and every routine. My favorites have been: the Bollywood (Indian culture) they did last week, the Hip Hop to "No Air", the Contemporary by Mia Michaels, and the Broadway by Tice Diorio. I think that includes one from them every week. I wasn't sure I'd LOVE them at first. But I do know!
• Jessica and Will: really good together I think, Jessica gets a lot of flack-and complimented and the same time. It's a dancing contradiction. I loved the Lyrical by Mandy Moore to "Alone", and the Contemporary they did last week by Tice Diorio.
• Kherington and Twitch: they usually do well. The one that stands out the most was a Contemporary by Mia Michaels. And last week they were in the bottom 3 couples and had to perform solos to "dance for your life". TWITCH was so cool! He's a popper/breaker I guess is how you classify him and he did this symphony conductor thing. http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=7fe5097e-c761-4821-a4f7-84e89c797772 I think that link will take you to his video. ENJOY!
• Chelsie and Mark: last but not least. One of the very first shows they did a Contemporary by Mia Michaels called "Tim Burton's wedding"-very good. But my favorite was a Hip Hop to "Bleeding Love" two weeks ago.

I know-that's only 4 couples..."top 10" would be a total of 5 couples. I just can't quite give out any lovin' for Courtney and Gev-they are good, I just don't love, love them. I guess they have been consistent...but nothing outstanding yet.

I'm all ready for tomorrow night's show. I think this is the week they start drawing names out of a hat for partners as well as the dances. Mixes things up a bit. And I have been seeing rumors that Jessica has broken ribs or something and is being replaced by the last girl voted off-Comfort. She's a breaker- "b girl", and I don't love her either. Her lack of formal training really showed last week and I was ok with her departure. So I don't know what's going to happen there. I hope Jessica is ok! I'm guessing Comfort will be back just to fill the void-and they will eliminate one boy this week. I think that's only fair.

Enough already, I know you are thinking it...you might not even be reading anymore but I have to share what I love here and right now this is it. Gives me an outlet too so I've enjoyed my little break from chores to blog a bit. Later!

Trying to decide...

What is the reason I don't get to blog all the time? Maybe this will be a once a month kind of thing where I just catch you all up on what's been going on. (Updates on SYTYCD will have to come after tonight's show.) I want to blog more, so what's the deal? Why am I not creative enough for such funny and inventive posts? I am pretty jealous of what I see on other blogs; and how hilarious people are--you know who you are. I have had several pity parties because no one loves me. I started eating dirt (instead of worms) is that supposed to make you feel better? Overall I'm just not happy with some other things. It's summer-but my bikini body was two babies ago. I don't think it's the dirt. I know I can do something about it but we are burned out here at our house all the time-who would have time and energy for exercise? I know, no excuses. But I have lots of 'em actually, and to me, they sound valid.

Anyway, to update anyone that wants to know.

Dee: has finished statistics and finance classes, two down...and one more added to the end of his "graduation date". MAD MAD MAD! They didn't have it on his schedule because it wasn't offered at his campus-but he will still need the credit. And when were they going to tell him he needed the credit if he hadn't asked first? Probably in January. Because it wasn't showing-he thought graduation would be in January now it's been bumped to February. Still kickin' butt at work though. He rides the train now to save on gas and car trouble. We have plenty of car trouble. Like yesterday we found that a wheel had cracked causing a slow leak in the tire. Cost of a new wheel=who knows. An amazing father-in-law=PRICELESS! Darell found one to fit...not a perfect match but no one's looking right? Maybe the non-matching wheel set can be a new trend we start.

Me: like I said above, not so much smelling roses and sipping lemonade all day like I'd want to. More like the dishes are in the sink needing to be done as I sit here and blog. I'm knee deep in laundry and ironing all the time with a washer I have to monitor on every load to make sure it doesn't overfill and leak and spill out all over the floor. (It happened last week and we were SO glad that the dirty pile of towels was in place to soak it all up!) We did have a good 4th and a nice reunion with my side of the family on the 5th.

Taycie: loads of energy as usual. Bored, bored, bored-she tell me she's bored-all day long. Now, I know that there are a thousand things she could find for herself to do; read, craft, color, play games with little brother. But no, she'd rather be bored (and watch tv). Thanks goodness for my sister and nieces. She got to go to "cousin camp" and spend a few days with them. Apparently she wasn't bored there...when I asked her about her tv habit (it was reported to me that they never watched any tv) she tells me, "well, I didn't know the channels at their house". So maybe when the tv annoys me I will mess up the channels and she won't be able to turn the dang thing on. She's really good about finding friends to play with in the afternoon so I shouldn't complain too much. I know she will be so happy when school comes back around and she is occupied all day with lots of friends and plenty to do.

Tanner: best news of all! Personal record in weight: 23.25 lbs!! Finally ON the growth chart at 2% (doing better in height at 45%). So it looks like we might have a bean pole on our hands. Since being so sick in May he has been much, much better and eating like a hungry boy. His vocabulary is extending to counting and colors and I want so badly to post a "dictionary by Tanner" he says things so cute. "No way" is new. It's reminding us what Taycie used to say and we laugh all over again at her baby words. We could probably publish a Jensen edition dictionary with the two of them. He's decided he loves swimming in grandmas pool if by swimming he can float on the big mattress and splash a little. And fireworks-not so much a favorite. I had to plug his ears and he held onto my hands tight. But no screaming or crying and he cheered and clapped when they were over-I don't think because they were over but because he did kind of like them after all.

Oh, I do love the kids. And I love Dee more than anything, more than ever! He sacrifices so much to get this schooling in. It will all be over some day-with the student loans to prove it. We have our 9 year anniversary coming up next month. I wonder what will happen in the next 9? And whether or not I will be able to have time to blog about it? Gotta go, I've spent too much time here and the kids are on my case about a snack-I swear we just had breakfast!

OneRepublic

My new favorite!! http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/onerepublic/videos.jhtml
You can check out their videos here. I already knew it was "too late to apologize" last year, but if you "stop and stare" you might go nowhere-and "say" you love them as much as I do.

Do you have a happy dance?

Confession time. One of my TV obsessions in the summer is So You Think You Can Dance...are you rolling on the floor laughing yet? Dee gives me a hard time, oh well, with DVR at least he doesn't have to watch it with me. I love this show even more than as much as I loved American Idol this year. I've missed a few years of AI-glad I saw this last season, but SYTYCD has been an absolute favorite all 3 seasons. I hated that Dee made fun of me before-but it just didn't connect until recently why it bothered me so much. I used to dance -confession #2- and I think that's why I enjoy the form of entertainment so much. I had no skill whatsoever but when you're 14 they let anyone in Jazz class that will pay to be there. Before Jazz I clogged from age 8 until my knees literally gave out at 12, and a lot of those years until about 15 I also square danced -confession #3- with my family (we had a good time but I had to quit 'cause it was SO NOT cool to go into high school being a "square" dancer). I love music and the body movement and WISH I could do a small fraction of what I see them do on TV. In researching for this post I found a bunch of videos on the web from past seasons and I loved watching them all over again. I have favorite dancers, routines, costumes, choreographers from all 3 seasons and I can't wait for what this season holds. The Top 20 performed last night and the talent this year is amazing! They mean business-and the choreographers are seriously winning Emmy awards for the stories they portray in dance. I just love it!! So if I have nothing else to tell you about at least I can keep you all updated on who is eliminated this week. And thank you for not making fun of me either.

Tanner funny today

I know it's only 10 am but Tanner had me smiling first thing today and I want to share. He LOVES cereal straws, and wants them every day-all day long. I have to limit them and he gets MAD. He yells "NAH"! It sounds like this: (s)na-(ck) the S and CK missing obviously. And he hits me like I wasn't paying attention. Today I told him he needs to ask nice and say please, so he changed his tone of voice with a "Nah"? and rubbed his chest (please in sign language). I said "Ok, mommy knows." So then he walks over to me and touches "beep beep" on my NOSE. So TENDER!!! I lova him! And if anything else spectacular happens today-I'll let ya know.

P.S. Not a staged picture-that is just how sweet he is!!

**Later that day: when Tanner wakes up from his nap he usually hollers for "tay-tee!" to come get him. If she's home I don't mind, so up she went and I heard some talking and playing. Pretty soon Taycie is downstairs with out Tanner. I waited to see if he was coming down on his own and then I heard a "BOO!" from the stairs-I pretended to be scared and looked up to see his little face from around the corner--grinning from ear to ear. I just laughed! His personality is forming and I just can't get over how much he understands at 2. That was a good day.

Date Night

So the last Dee-and-I-alone date I remember was three months ago for my birthday, and we only made it out for a nice Italian dinner. I can't even try to remember the last movie we actually sat in a theater for. Last night I was DYING---REALLY actually going to die if I couldn't go see Narnia: Prince Caspian, or I guess I could have just gone to see it by myself. Anyway, Taycie and I had re-read the book just so we would know what was going on. (Side note: Taycie doesn't get to see action packed/intense movies until we pre-screen them.) So Dee finished his stats class (HOORAY!) on Tuesday and I knew he needed a night to blow off steam. OK, actually it was me REALLY needing to blow off steam. I have been taking care of sick, VERY, sick babies the last two weeks. Tanner went to the ER twice for dehydration, and I had to check Taycie out of school early one day because she threw up in class (poor thing!). They had the tummy flu severely-lots of yuck, you don't want further details, believe me. I lost track of how many times I had been thrown up on-or pooped on for that matter. It seemed like it was never going to end, from either end, and I was just waiting to get it myself...however I now know that Heavenly Father blesses Mothers so that they can take care of their little ones-somehow keeping our bodies' systems from giving in. I never did get it and I am forever grateful. For most of the first week we even made "headquarters" in the family room with a quilt out on the floor so the two kids could sleep at night with me right there beside them on the couch. I learned we don't have a comfortable sleeping couch. We had throw up bowls, tissues, diapers and wipes, extra blankets and clothes. I even started a "clean pile" of laundry and blankets in the rocking chair because I was going through 3 or 4 extra loads of laundry a day just in clean up efforts. So we would dress out of the clean from the chair, take the dirty in to be washed and when it was clean it would go to the chair...good strategy right?

Well after all that I guess I haven't been too patient or kind...I AM SOOOOO SORRY FAMILY!! I called Dee at work and said, "You need to find me a babysitter and take me out!" Not too demanding even though it sounds a little harsh. It was just the right temperature for Dee to really take note! :) Love you, honey. So he did. He found a babysitter (thank you grandma Steph), came home from working all day in Salt Lake to turn around and go back to Salt Lake to use our gift card his old company had given us for Christmas-yes it takes us 6 months or longer to use gift cards that's how often we go out!! We did not have a good parking experience-who knows why there were THAT many people at the Gateway last night. We ran in to grab tickets for the 7:00 show and I stood there watching for it to blink "sold out" in front of me I was so anxious, but it didn't-Hallelujah! And with reserved seating we got to pick our seats-up far enough you are right on with the screen and just left of center-not too bad. We had just enough time to get a bite-Subway had to do with the time constraint we were in. And then it was time-time to sit and enjoy a full-length film with no kids crying; well not my kids anyway, someone else had a crying kid but I didn't have to take care of it. And 'sup with with the guy half way down and his annoying cell phone ring in the middle of the movie??? I swear it took him two full minutes to get it turned off. Gosh, some people!

Now onto the movie review; the REAL reason I wanted to post tonight (thank you for letting me vent off that whole two weeks of sick kids and stuff). TERRIFIC, AMAZING, FABULOUS, PERFECT!!! I can't believe how they adapted it and made it SO MUCH BETTER than the book. At least more entertaining, and maybe it's not really the book's fault, maybe it's the limits of my imagination when reading the book. But I choose to believe that there were LOTS of creative geniuses at work and they just did all they could to put you there, make you feel all of it. I loved, loved, loved it and wish I could have seen it again today!!! I found myself especially enjoying parts that I kept leaning over to tell Dee, "That's not in the book"-hope I didn't ruin it for him. There was so much more than the book and it just added to the entirety of it. Made something good, so so so good and even better. I'll stop now, sorry for the long post-I'm sure I lost a few readers about half way down. Oh well. Go see Caspian if you haven't already done so!! Both of my thumbs are up, WAY UP! And thank you to my hubby for the DATE! If I promise to be in a better mood will you please not make me wait another 3 months?!!

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