Happy Birthday Grandpa Anderson

Things Miriam loves about Grandpa:

"We do stuff cool"
He lets me help in his garden
He lets me play on the trampoline
He lets me talk to him on the phone, for a LONG time
We love to eat ice cream together






Things Shay loves about Grandpa:

Ah, ba, ca, da
Baa hee haa
Nooooo
Doo doo doo










Things Mallena loves about Pops:

He's willing to do our taxes
He adores my children
I love his jokes--even if they are only groan worthy
He never yelled at me when I backed into cars (it only happened twice)
He is a worthy priesthood holder---he's even worthy to be a bishop
I love how he'd made sure we all knew how to work hard

It's Official.....

Doug and I will be attending "WICKED" in NYC on March 9, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. The tickets arrived the other day and we can't wait!!! I don't think we'll ever be able to do anything fun again, but I think it will be worth every penny. The great thing is that Doug is just as excited about it as I am. Miriam wishes she could come, but the tickets were just a little to expensive to let her come. Maybe someday....Enjoy the two songs I've got on my blog. Doug's favorite is "Defying Gravity" and I love "For Good". I highly recommend the CD. It has such great music! Plus, the "For Good" song is MUCH better on the CD. DON'T READ THE BOOK! I was sick to my stomach within the first couple of pages. The author has a VERY filthy mind! Just a warning.

I got this email from a friend of mine. Instead of forwarding it to everyone, I thought I'd blog it and let you decide if you'd like to participate.

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your friends including the person that sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 10:30 A.M.
2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds
3. What is the last film you saw at the cinema? 27 Dresses
4. What is your favorite TV show? Matlock
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Toast
6. What is your middle name? Marie
7. What food do you dislike? Tomatoes, Bananas, Onions, Peppers, etc.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Wicked
9. What kind of car do you drive? Ford Explorer, but I don't drive unless I have too
10. Favorite sandwich? Grilled cheese made with wheat bread and Miracle Whip and grilled on a sandwich maker
11. What characteristic do you despise? Rude
12. Favorite item of clothing? My jeans from Old Navy I got for $14 after Thanksgiving
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Denmark
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Whatever fits and is in my price range
15. Where would you retire to? I haven't thought about that, Doug's still in school
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? When I turned 16 my mom took me and my friends to my great-aunt's cabin. She had to come to chaperon, but she was so great about just sitting in the background and letting us do whatever we wanted.
17. Favorite sport to watch? Football, or watching my brothers play "Suffer Points" (don't ask)
18. Farthest place you're sending this to? Rexburg, Idaho
19. Person you expect to send this back first? Ummmm....
20. This question was lost somewhere
21. When is your birthday? September 14, 1980
22. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night person
23. What is your shoe size? 7-7.5
24. Pets? 0
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Doug and I are going to "Wicked" in NYC!
26. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher and a mommy
27. How are you today? Just dandy
28. What is your favorite candy? Hershey's Cookie and Cream candy bar
29. What is your favorite flower? Snapdragons
30. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? March 3--It's Doug's first day of Spring Break
31. This question was lost too
32. What is your full name? Mallena Marie Anderson Ricks
33. What are you listening to right now? Dora the Explorer and Miriam teaching Shaylynn how to exercise. She's a tad bossy!
34. What is the last thing you ate? Chicken strips dipped in honey mustard
35. Do you wish on stars? Yes
36. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Light blue
37. How is the weather right now? I'm not sure; my blinds are closed so I can keep in the heat
38. Last person you spoke with on the phone? My mom
39. Favorite soft drink? Root beer
40. Favorite restaurant? I don't know, it's been so long since we've gone out to eat
41. Hair color? Blond, but with darker roots
42. What was your favorite toy as a child? Matchbox cars
43. Summer or winter? Summer, but only because I hate driving on snowy roads
44. Hugs or kisses? Hugs, but I also love kisses from my girls
45. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
46. Coffee or tea? Neither, but I do love a cup of hot chocolate
47. Do you want your friends to email you back? Of course, if they have time
48. When was the last time you cried? Last week?
49. What is under your bed? Boxes from our move here
50. What did you do last night? Talked to my moms and watched "House" with Doug
51. What are you afraid of? That I'll be stuck in Philadelphia forever
52. Salty or sweet? Sweet and then salty, then sweet again (see a pattern?)
53. How many keys on your key ring? At least 4--key to apartment building, key to apartment, key to mailbox, key to car
54. How many years at your current job? It will be 5 years on May 3
55. Favorite day of the week? Friday
56. How many towns have you lived in? 4--Irving, TX; Rexburg, ID; Lewiston, ID; Philadelphia, PA
57. Do you make friends easily? Usually, especially if they make the first move
58. How many people will you send this to? At least one, but I'll probably blog it so I don't have to send it to a bunch of people
59. How many will respond? I'm not sure
60. Who sent this email to you? Leah, by the way congratulations on the baby

When Mom is Away the Girls Will Play

Hello, my name is Mallena Ricks and I'm a Sleepaholic. It's been a year since I've gotten up early without having somewhere I had to be.

I hope none of you turn me into Child Protective Services, but I do have a problem. I enjoy sleeping in. Luckily I have two amazing children that basically take care of themselves until I roll out of bed, or one of them decides I've slept enough of the day away.

Well, the other morning Miriam came into the bedroom saying she had made herself breakfast. Earlier in the week Doug had taught her how to put frozen waffles in the toaster, and then prepare them to eat. It was great for me until we ran out of frozen waffles.

With this knowledge I hurried to the kitchen thinking of what mess there could be. Thankfully there wasn't a mess, but her breakfast creation was rather interesting. See if you can name everything she put in her bowl.
Doesn't that look tasty? Can you place the food items? Let's see, we've got Cheerios, marshmallows, two packages of fruit snacks of the princess variety, and beef jerky. Yum! What more could you ask for in one meal?

As soon as she took a bite she about gagged. Instead of letter her waste it, I made her separate everything into piles and then eat them separately. By the end of the day the piles were all gone.

Oh, you may be wondering about the outfit she has on. Why would any mother in her right mind let her child wear that kind of shirt during the winter? Well, a mother that sleeps in and lets her child dress herself---and her little sister.
Yikes! Not only do they look cold, but the fabrics aren't even close to looking good together. Besides, all of those clothes had been put aside because they were either too big or too small. I guess that's what happens when the kid can't reach the hanging clothes. She's got to use what she can reach. Brrr....

ARRRRR

Ok, so my last post is driving me nuts. How come there is so much space between my two pictures. I've tried everything I know to fix it, but it hasn't worked. ARRRRR! Doug, this is why I don't post that often! It takes me FOREVER and then it doesn't work right.

Hmmm...well now that I've got that off my chest, I best be getting back to updating our blog.

Sleeping Shaylynn

Shaylynn usually doesn't take naps, but sometimes she just can't help it. What could be more relaxing than chilling in your car seat with a bag a chips and a drink of juice?
I was working on the computer and heard a loud thud. Shaylynn started crying and came over and sat on my lap. After I stopped laughing (I know, bad parent) I asked her if she was tired. She started screaming at me (told you she didn't like naps) and got off my lap. Next thing I knew Doug was snapping her picture. I'm not sure why she decided to go back to the same spot she had previously dive bombed from, but it must have been more comfortable than it looks. She stayed asleep for about an hour.

It actually reminds me of my brother Weston. He can fall asleep ANYWHERE! Oh, the places we've found him taking naps. Ahhhh, memories.....

My Personality as a Painting

Thanks Darlynn for the fun idea. I'm not sure how much this looks like me, but I guess I can always change it with the change of a mood.


Click here to create your own painting.