Cricket is Here!!

Welcome to the world, Katherine Lucille Morrison. Born sometime after 6pm on August 26, 2008. Weight: 5 lb 13 oz. Length: 17 in. She is such a sweet, tiny baby. You will all love Jen's story of her labor, she's a superstar. I'm sure she will post more pictures and tell the story when she is home and feeling up to it. Congrats, Jen, Matt and new big bro Carter.

What does your name mean?

I found this on my friend, Amber's, blog. Nothing scientific here, just fun. I think it's funny because a lot was similar between Amber and Jennifer. No wonder we are friends. "You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun." That's what we are always doing together. Trouble, trouble, trouble.:-D

What Jennifer Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are loving, compassionate, and ruled by your feelings. You are able to be a foundation for other people... but you still know how to have fun. Sometimes your emotions weigh you down, but you generally feel free from them. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

WE ARE #1!!!!!

Front Row l-r: Katie, Aimee, Jerilynn, Melissa, Rebecca
Back Row l-r: Kahea, Rhonda, Tori, Shannon, Me, Carrie, Katie

Our ward softball team won Regionals tonight. Okay, to say it is our ward softball team is a stretch as it was actually 3 wards combined. Which is hilarious as the wards together had approx. 42 people on the rosters. However, we forfeited a lot. Meaning we had trouble getting 8 people out of the 42 to show up for games. It was basically the same people and we had a blast. I'm actually so glad we were able to be combined and that I was able to play with old friends (Tori, and Carrie) and get to know new friends (all the rest).

Awesome. We are the comback queens. We had two outs in the last inning and we were down by 2. We scored 3 runs to lead by one. We then totally shut them down. 3 up/3 down. We played the other ward from our stake that made it to Regionals for the championship. We hear that we will be getting t-shirts proclaiming our prowess. I was hoping to get it tonight so that I could wear it to church on Sunday so everyone would know that we are #1.

Next we move onto volleyball, at which I leave much to be desired. I have not signed up in years past because of the fact that I'm not great. However, I was inspired by the women that played on the softball teams even though they were not great. They were there participating and supporting their team. So I am going to do that with all the sports. I encourage everyone to participate even if you are not great. It is worth it.

Congrats to team KeHighBack. WE ROCK!!

Underwater Sculpture

Kenneth shared an article about this really cool sculpture artist, Jason Taylor. He has put some of his work underwater and if looks so creepy cool. I now know where I would like to go snorkeling and scuba diving.

The Winner of "What the heck is this?" is.....

Amy Harper!! She got it right for sure. It turns out that it is venice mallow weed. I was pretty sure that I could count on one of my gardening ladies to tell me what it was. It is gone now. We pulled it out. Thank you so much, Amy.

What the heck is this?

This plant showed up in our front garden area this year. We don't know what it is or where it came from. Whoever can identify it will win some free rhubarb.

Notice the fat buds. They only open in the morning. In the afternoon the whole plant looks a little wilted.
The flowers are really delicate looking.
It's all spread out on the bottom. It's actually fairly large. It comes up in tiers. You can't really tell from the picture.

If no one identifies it, but you still want rhubarb, just let me know.

Top Ten Things Tag

This was started by my friend Jen. I want her to know I do read her blog so I'm finally getting around to doing this. I tag everyone with blue eyes. If you can't think of ten things. Do a top 5 or a top 1.

Here's the tag: think of something going on in your life and make a top 10 for it.

Top Ten Reasons School is Awesome

The kids learn stuff.
Teachers get paid to be patient, I don't.
The kids play with their friends.
The kids are out of the house for 6 1/2 hours.
Schedules.
Order.
Routines.
Weekends really mean something.
Less laundry. Thank you uniforms!
Kids excited about stuff they learn.



Top Ten Reasons School is NOT Awesome

The kids learn stuff from friends. What did you just say?!
The teachers are not paid enough.
The kids don't spend enough time actually learning.
The kids are out of the house for 6 hours.
Schedules.
Order.
Routines.
Up Early.
Kids get sick of wearing the same thing everyday. Thanks a lot uniforms.
Kids now know things I used to know.

Rawlings Oregon Vacation: Sidenotes

On our last Sunday in Oregon we were able to see Vulcan, our dog of a few years. We sent him to a new home last year in Medford. He is really loved, which makes me very happy because we couldn't/didn't give him the attention he deserved. That's the good news, the bad news is he is fat.
Labs will eat everything you give them. That's why you have to be so careful with feeding a Lab. Even when we had him he wasn't at his optimum weight, but now he is a giant. It made me sad because I worry about his health. However, it was good to see him and be reminded why we are happy that he is someone else's dog now. He is just too big for me and too hairy and too sniffy and too licky.

The kids loved seeing him, especially Orion.

Special thanks to Mom and Hanah for letting us invade your home, feeding us so well and showering us with love. Thanks for putting up with the added craziness. We miss you and wish we lived closer to all our family.

Thus ends the tale of the Rawlings Oregon Vacation 2008.

Rawlings Oregon Vacation: Day 8

We decided to head to Crater Lake on Saturday. Kenneth's dad and bro. were down from Seattle so we made it a big family outing. The Rawlings will most likely be living in Seattle next year so we wanted to take advantage of being close to Crater Lake while we could. It is WOW. I can't describe this place. The color of the water is that blue you see. It looks totally fake, but it is real. We had a picnic lunch looking out over the water. Then we went on a short hike to the watchman tower where the photos were taken. The above photo is actually many photos that Kenneth stitched together. We then went to a very yummy pizza place on our way back into town. It was a really great day. We all had a blast.

Rawlings Oregon Vacation: Day 7

One of the things that the kids say is their favorite about going to Oregon is the science museum in Ashland, OR. It is called ScienceWorks Museum. Next to seeing family, this is where they love to be. Luckily, for the last two years we have been able to get in for free.

Nana raises guide dogs and one day a year they present at the science museum and everyone that is with them gets in free. Yipee! We watched the presentation with the guide dogs first, always very interesting and the kids love seeing the dogs. (Kenneth's mom is on the left.) Then the kids ran wild while I read Eclipse. Kenneth also ran wild with his younger brother Christopher, who had come down from Seattle to see us.

Dylan is on a chair that uses ropes and pulleys to show you how more pulleys make it easier to pull yourself up the rope. I can't even move myself on the one pulley chair. Pathetic upper body strength.

Orion is in an area with balls and pipes. You drop the balls and see where they come out.

Theron with Kenneth and Christopher discussing what it's going to take to send a bottle that you can fill with air and water the highest.

Sophia showing us all that she is too tall to enter the ball and pipe area.

Ian and blocks. I don't know what he is trying to prove.

Hanah making a town square design.

Christopher. Isn't he cute? He's available. He's 30, lives in Seattle and works for Microsoft. If you know any available girls that you think would be a good match let me know and we'll see what we can work out.;-D Christopher loves it when I arrange his love life.

Kenneth playing with one of those lighting balls. I'm sure there's a scientific name, but I don't know it.

Rawlings Oregon Vacation: Day 6

Hiking Roxy Ann. Roxy Ann is the name of a hill that is right behind my in-law's house. We have never hiked it before. We decided to take all the kids and Hanah up the hill.

I was surprised to see this sign when we started out though. It sounds very dangerous. You drive up and park outside a gate and then walk up a road, then there is a trail that goes around the hill, then there is a trail that goes to the top.

It was a really nice little hike actually. I would have loved to do it another time without the kids. The kids were mostly good little hikers. The older three were total champs. Orion and Dylan started complianing of dieing fairly early on. At first Dylan said he could do it and then he started telling us that his legs were bored, which translates to "tired."

We ended up only doing the trail that went around the hill, so we didn't get to go to the top. It was beautiful though and had some amazing views.

Rawlings Oregon Vacation: Day 5

This day was our down day. We went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was a pretty fun show. They didn't have it in 3-D. I think it would be much cooler in 3-D. I would recommend it, but it's more like a dollar movie, than a full price movie; however, then you couldn't see it in 3-D. It is a quandary. I don't know what to tell you. The rest of the day I read and slept. Good for me.

Rawlings Oregon Vacation: Day 4

We went to a wonderful animal rehabilitation and education center called Wildlife Images. It was super cool to see these animals up close. It was pretty surreal as well. Your looking at a grizzly bear not even 5 feet away. The tours are free, but they ask for a donation. The area that they show you holds the animals that cannot be released back into the wild for one reason or another. The animals that they are rehabilitating are kept in another location to limit human contact.
Male eagle. Did you know that it takes about 5 years for their heads to turn white and that the female is much bigger than the male. There was a younger female in this same area. She hadn't turned white yet, but she was at 1 1/2 times bigger than this guy.

Everywhere else in the world they call these birds buzzards. In the US we call them hawks. First we can't be bothered to use the metric system and now the birds.

Cool bobcat. I love the look he's giving Kenneth. Tasty Kenneth.

A white wolf.

Badger. Did you know that badgers are so mean that even a bear will avoid them. Why are there not more badger team mascots?

This bear is called Yogi. He was the biggest black bear they had. He was in an area with a lot of bears. I'm not sure now, but I think there were 5+ in there. He was scratching his back on a tree. He looked exactly like a teddy bear. It was so bizarre.

Here is our grizzly bear. He just kept pacing back and forth in front of the crowd. I think he was looking for someone to play with.

Last, but certainly not least, the cougar. It was hard to get a good shot. Good shot of his glowing eye though. It was a really cool place. I'm so glad that places like this exist and that they are willing to help the animals and teach the humans.

Rawlings Oregon Vacation: Day 3

Kenneth and I took a jet boat ride on the Rogue River with Hellgate Jetboats. It was really fun. The weather the whole time we were in Oregon was so perfect. If it got over 90 it was by 1 degree with the majority of the day cool and wonderful.

If you ever go on one of these boats don't worry about doing your hair. It is pointless. You get really cool ratty 80's style hair by being whipped with wind the whole time. They do fun 360 degree spins in the water. We got really wet.

We saw some really cool birds: eagles, herons and osprey. We had lunch at a stop in the middle of the trip. It was a really delicious lunch and we got to meet some people from different states. Our tour guide was really funny. They make their money on tips so they try to be very entertaining.

While we were off having fun the kids went to a park with Nana and Aunt Hanah. The park has water features and a regular park. So the kids just kept running back and forth between the two parts. They had a great time there.

Any down time that I had during this trip was spent reading my Twilight books in preparation for the "Breaking Dawn" release.

Orion's Success

Orion is officially a bike rider now. It was painful and I wanted one or the other of us to die several times, but it is over now. After the first day of getting really mad at him and walking away for awhile I googled "How to learn to ride a bike." It was actually very helpful. So for several days I just had him push himself around on his bike getting used to balancing and coasting. Then today we went to the elementary school to ride in a big open space. He did really well. In less than 15 min he was riding by himself. Now, of course, he's riding around loving it, getting lots of practice.

Fun Tag - More useless info about me.

Found of my friend, Amber's, blog. She invited anyone that wanted to participate to either post this on their own blog or answer it in the comments here. I extend the same invitation. It's fun. Just do it!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No, my parents apparently had the exact same thought as the majority of parents of girls that year. Jennifer Lynn.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? When my brother & fam. moved to Virginia and when I said goodbye to my in-laws last week.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No. I wish it was prettier.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey if I'm good, Corned Beef if I'm not.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes, 5 small type humans.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Of Course, I'm awesome!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? No, never.;-)
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Absolutely
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Golden Grahams is my weakness, thus they are not allowed in the house. I will eat the whole box in one day. I like it w/o milk.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not as strong as some and stronger than others.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Extreme Moose Tracks. I'll eat whatever you're having though.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their smile.
15. RED OR PINK? Pink.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I wish I was more organized and productive.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My in-laws, my sisters and brother and their families who live out of state. My friend, Marissa, who lives in Chicago.
18. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I'm barefoot
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Snickerdoodle
20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My child discussing how much an i-pod shuffle costs.
21. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Blue
22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Fresh cut grass, summer rain, russian olive trees, roses
23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My dad.
24. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? No, and as noted above I am never sarcastic.
25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Football is my favorite, then the Olympics.
26. Hair Color? Blondish
27. EYE COLOR? blue
28. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Never again. LASIK rocks!!
29. FAVORITE FOOD? Indian, pizza, ice cream, cheese, pig products.
30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.
31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? X-Files
32. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? blue
33. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
34. HUGS OR KISSES? First one, followed by the other.
35. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate anything.
36. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Fablehaven
37. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Edward's diamond heart with the words "Dazzle Me," a gift from Jenn M.
38. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? America's Got Talent
39. FAVORITE SOUND? Laughter
40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Niagara Falls
41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can touch my nose with my tongue.
42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Payson, Utah