Let the Potty Training Begin

Check out the storm trooper on his underwear,
these are the coolest!

I can't wait to say goodbye to diapers FOREVER!!!  I thought we were done with all that 7 years ago, but then this little guy crashed the party and we started all over.  Qyntn loves big boy underwear and is doing great going pee pee in the toilet, but has absolutely no interest in pooping there.  Hopefully he will have a change of heart soon. 

Back To School!

4th Grade!  Señora Call and Miss Gurr are lucky to have Alyssa and Holly in their class.  I hope it will be their best year yet!

Island Park (Fuller Family Reunion #2)

Upper Mesa Falls

Fun on the lake

Escaping the Beehive Geyser spray

GRANDKIDS!

Gorgeous Fire Hole River Falls

Swimmin Hole on the Fire Hole River

Well....I survived another Fuller Family Reunion.  Actually, I got Fuller'd  out after two days so we left, but the two days we were there were lovely!  Thanks to Randy and Tasha and grandma and Willy for organizing everything. 

Inaugural Salt Lake Gaming Con

Ben asked me to go to the Salt Lake Gaming Con with him.  My first thought was that it would be a complete waste of life, but because I love him, I went.  We hung with a bunch of weirdies all night but I have to admit, I had fun staring at them.  Best part of the night was the dance.  We moshed with Spiderman, AWESOME!





AHHH!

No idea why Jurassic Park was at
the Gaming Con...but it made for
a fun photo op.

My handsome date

had to get a photo with these guys...
my kids are PVZ freaks

We love us some Gollum

 

Whoa babe...you look hawt!

Welcome to the Club!

I was the first Sister Julien, my niece is the second...we've started a club.  Welcome home Hannah!  Hopefully all of the girls in our family will want to join our club!!!

 

Serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was one of the best decisions of my life!!!!

Test of Integrity

I had a chance to help out with a race the other day.  It was a 285 mile triathlon style relay race.  There were 36 legs in all, some swimming, some running, and some cycling.  23 teams competed.  I was asked to help at exchange 33 which meant that when the athletes got to where I was they had been racing for more than 24 hours, were exhausted and ready for the race to be over.  I had arrived at the exchange at 7:30 in the morning, around 1:30 PM the second to last place team finally arrived.  When I approached their car they rolled down the window and asked if it would be alright for them to send on their next runner before the one on leg 33 actually finished.  They wanted me to cheat for them by writing down an inaccurate time for the runner that was coming in.  I was disappointed and told them that I wouldn't feel right about doing that.  They continued to try to persuade me by telling me that all the other teams were doing it.  In my mind I thought, I don't care what everyone else is doing, I care about my actions and my integrity.  I again told them I didn't feel that would be the right thing to do.  I think they were really surprised I wouldn't do it and I don't think they liked me much, but I hope in hindsight they will be able to stand a little taller knowing that they finished the race the right way. 

I Done Won Me a Medal

     It's not every day I have the opportunity to win a medal, especially since I'm no longer in youth soccer or basketball nor do I draw pictures or display art at the county fair. But two weeks ago I did just that, win a medal, and here's why.
     My work (DealerSocket) held a development retreat in San Clemente, CA, and as we arrived they divided 170 of us into 15 different groups and had us sit together as they endeavored to pump us up and get us excited about the future of our company. About 3 hours into this bad boy the real fun began as they gave each team a remote control car and $50 to build the baddest battle bot they could over the next two days. Rules were simple, come up with a team name, use only tools in the room and whatever you could get with he $50 bones to create a machine that could either push the competition outside of the arena or render them immobile.
     In a room full of nerds and engineers, I understandably took control of the group, the design of the bot, and the $50 and went to work. My goal: odds are we aren't gonna win so let's try for the most outrageous award and entertain the spectators along the way. A trip to Home Depot and Walmart and two days later we named ourselves the Dealiebers (like the Beliebers that follow Justin Bieber) and came up with this contraption:

 A little snow plow-like contraption on the front and back to flip the other bots head on and a couple ramps on either side and J. Biebs himself riding shotgun and running the show.

     To top it off I added a little flair to promote our bot in the form of Believe stickers and some healthy JB propaganda.

     Round one came and we were the talk of the joint. Not another nerd in the place had flair like we did and who doesn't love the Biebs? And when push come to shove, we did the most pushing and shoving and won ourselves the battle. On to round two.

     A bit unprepared for more than the first round, I came up with a solution to keep the onlookers entertained - let's remove a piece of our driver's clothing in the next round - BOOM! Off goes your shirt Justin!!!! Round two came and the crowd was excited to see our bot but when we showed up with the added bonus of a shirtless Justin Bieber, the crowd went wild and we scored another victory.


     We were on to something I thought and suffice it say JB rode in style in Daisy Dukes for round three - another win - and went full monty in the semifinals - a blowout win.

     We were in the finals now, coasting on fumes, running on borrowed time and even less clothes so the Biebs in a last ditch effort to keep fans happy, flipped over, rode the pony full frontal Barbie style nudity and demolished our competitor to claim the championship. The crowd was happy, we was the champs, and I done won me a medal - and $50.

     I wore the medal all the way home, through the airport, on the plane, and even walked through my entire neighborhood wearing it. I even slept with it - because who knows how long it will be until I win another medal.

Where Shall I Work Today?

About 2 weeks ago I saw a post on Facebook.  It was asking for volunteers to help with a race (Doxa Threelay) that was coming up.  The message was from a girl that I visit teach.  I like to help out when I can, but I knew this request would probably take up part of a Saturday and I wasn't sure I wanted to help that much.  I talked it over with Ben and he told me he would support me in whatever decision I made.  As her visiting teacher I decided to volunteer.  About a week later I got an email telling me my assignment.  They wanted me to take a shift at exchange 33 near Cleveland, Utah where I would sit from 7:30 am until noon writing down the times of the runners as they finished that leg of the race.  I had no idea where Cleveland was so I googled it.  Turns out Cleveland is south of Price which meant I would have an hour and forty minute drive before my shift.  The truth is, I wasn't real thrilled about any of it.  The day of the race came and I dragged myself out of bed at 5am, threw on some clothes and a hat, packed up a lunch and headed to my spot.  It was in the middle of nowhere...











At first I was a little nervous.  I was completely alone on the side of the road, there was no one to talk to, and thoughts of crazies coming by to drag me away crossed my mind.  When the first team showed up about 40 minutes after I arrived I was relieved, but news that the last group was way behind the others meant that I probably wouldn't be leaving at noon.  And then there was a snake, a 5 foot bullsnake decided to pay me a visit, I hate snakes.  It was between me and the honey bucket and boy did I need to pee.  Luckily, another group showed up before I peed my pants and took the snake away.  It was actually kinda fun interacting with the athletes when they came through, but sitting in the hot sun all day (90+ degrees, no shade), mostly all alone, isn't what I really wanted to be doing.  The last group came through at 2pm and I was finally able to head home.  As I drove and reflected on the day a poem came to my mind.  It put things in the proper light.

Father, Where Shall I Work Today?

Father, where shall I work today?
my love flowed warm and free.
Then He pointed out a tiny spot
And said, “Tend that for me.”
I answered quickly, “Oh no; not that!
Why, no one would ever see,
No matter how well my work was done;
Not that little place for me.”
And the word He spoke, it was not stern;
He answered me tenderly:
“Ah, little one, search that heart of thine.
Art thou working for them or for me?
Nazareth was a little place,
And so was Galilee.”
--Meade McGuire

I'm actually grateful that I had a chance to serve in that tiny, lonesome spot on HWY 10 in central Utah. It was good for my soul.