Flashback Friday...The Birthday Boa

I love to celebrate important events in people's lives.  If I wanted to, I think I could be one swell event planner.  :)  I love throwing parties.  I also LOVE celebrating people's birthdays.  So when I was at college at BYU-Idaho I made sure I celebrated my roommate's birthdays.  We always had cake or cupcakes or cheesecake or some other delicious treat.  But the real fun started the morning of.  I was a night owl so the night before my roommate's birthday I would make sure they went to bed before me and then I would write all over the bathroom mirror with dry erase marker "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"  And then I usually wrote something cute.  I think one time I even came up with a birthday poem.  Whoa.  :)

My favorite thing though was the birthday boa.  :)  It was a bright purple feathered boa and the birthday princess got to wear it all day on their birthday.  There was a tiara and earrings too, but those were optional.  My roommates are probably going to kill me for these, but here's proof that all my roommates complied and wore the birthday boa.  There's not a picture of me wearing the birthday boa because my birthday was not during the school year.  :)  he he he he...

Here's to the birthday boa.  :)  Oh and I still have it if you want to borrow it for a loved one's birthday.  :)

Flashback Friday...HAIR

Growing up I always had long hair.  I mean long!  Every time I mentioned that I might want to cut it, my Papa would very seriously tell me he didn't want me to cut my hair.  He was quite attached to it, and well since he didn't have much hair of his own, I obliged.  So my hair grew quite long.  I used to part it right down the middle and somehow the boys at school decided I looked like Alanis Morset.  Whenever I walked by they'd sing "Isn't it Ironic?"  Personally I didn't see the similarities.  

I mean really:

That's me on the left. (yes my hair is in pigtails, I'm wearing a tweety bird back pack and I'm making a crazy face. I was "unique" as my family called it)  Oh and this is a pic of me in high school, but that's a minor detail.

And here's Alanis (just for reference):

Personally I think I have a much stronger stage presence than her. ;)

The first haircut (other than trims) I remember getting was when I was 11 or 12.  My family was in Mesa, AZ on a temple trip over spring break.  I think my Papa was out of town somewhere else on a business trip.  I had finally decided that it was time to cut my hair, so my mom, sister and I went to the mall while my brothers stayed back at the hotel room.  Once we got to the salon I asked for hair like Rachel from Friends.  I didn't even watch Friends, but I knew everyone wanted her hair.  

So that's what the hairstylist gave me.  I remember my mom saying she didn't think I was going to like it, but I was insistent, so that's what I got.  Looking back my mom probably knew I hadn't a clue how to style my hair like Rachel's.  Thanks for trying mom!  Here's the best picture I can find of my hair from that time period.  Did I mention I love climbing trees?

Years went by and I grew my hair out again, cut it again and grew it out again. And by this point I was attached to my hair. It was part of how I identified myself.  Everyone knew the short Robyn with long hair.  Junior year of high school I auditioned for the musical "Oliver".  During the audition I was asked if I would be willing to cut my hair if I was offered one of the supporting rolls.  I emphatically said NO!  So instead I wore my hair up in a hat and yelled out my two lines, which I can't even remember anymore.

 By the time I was a senior in high school my hair was really long.  See?

Just a few weeks into my senior year my parents called a family counsel.  My Papa had been offered a position as plant manager in Manilla, Philippines and they wanted him to start Jan 2nd.  As our family prayed about it, we all knew that this would be a good change for our family.  My parents were very supportive and understanding that this move would affect me the most.  They gave me many options but eventually we decided that we would move to the Philippines over Christmas break so we'd all be together when my Papa started work.  Suddenly the idea of having lots of long hair wasn't appealing.  So I decided to chop it off.  So I went over to my best friend Janalee's house and we chopped it off.  

We put it in a ponytail, hacked it off and then decided to go to a salon to get it fixed up since it was really a hack job.  I donated the hair to locks of love and felt pretty good about helping someone.

Then my family moved to the Philippines and I was so glad I had shorter hair.

This is my senior picture from the Philippines.

The summer after I graduated high school I went to live with my Grandmommy and Granddaddy in Virginia.  I worked at a retreat for artists and writers in the middle of nowhere during the week and then went to my grandparents house on the weekends for church.  My aunt Holly (who is only 6 years older than me) convinced me on one of the weekend visits that I should let her cut my hair. I should mention that Holly had never been to beauty school and I'm not entirely sure she had ever cut anyone's hair before.  But I looked up to her so I thought I'd let her do it.  The haircut took forever with her saying "I just can't quite get it even" and my hair kept getting shorter and shorter.  Suddenly I had chin length hair.  :)  I went to college soon after and I actually loved exploring the new me.  :)  

Here's a picture of me with my roommate and next door neighbor.  I should mention that I did not wear makeup until I went to college and I hadn't a clue on how to wear it.  Looking back I don't know why I didn't ask my roommates for help.

Anyways, this post is incredibly long as it is, but essentially I have had hair shorter than my shoulders ever since college.  I LOVE short hair. I've had everything from bobs to pixie cuts and I even shaved my head last September (read about that here).  So I can literally say I've had my hair every length between my scalp and my chin.

And soon a new hair adventure will take place.  Last December I won a set of clip in extensions via a blog giveaway.  The extensions came in the mail today.  My hair is still too short to get away with using the extensions, but you will definitely see pictures when I feel comfortable using them.  :)

Hooray for Hair!  :)

Flashback Friday... I Can Do it Myself!

I'm not exactly sure what year the following story took place in.  I believe I was a sophmore in high school though. It was a Saturday morning, and my best friend, Sarah, had slept over at my house.  We had decided that we were going to meet up with some friends at the library and then go over to my friend, Katie's house afterward.  I can't remember the reasoning behind it, but my younger brother and sister came with us, probably to give my mom a well deserved break.  :)    I remember on the way to the library that morning we walked by the house of a boy Sarah liked.  :)  Oh high school crushes!  We had huge crushes on these boys but we never did anything about them!  Probably a good thing.  :)

When we got to Katie's house we decided to go hang out back in the hammocks.  It was a spring day and a little cool, so the girls cuddled in the huge hammock while Donald watched from a distance.  At some point I decided that I wanted to get into the hammock chair.  The problem was it was hung up too high for me to get in by myself.  Donald even found a little cage or box for me to step on, but as you can see, it wasn't much help.  I was really struggling trying to get into this chair hammock and all the while my brother, sister and friends kept trying to offer their help and suggestions.  My response to all of it was "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!"  I was a but sassy about it all.  Having four brothers made me a bit more independent than I probably should have been.  I always felt like I had to be just as rough and tough as them and I'm pretty sure I had a case of 'little-man-syndrome'.  :)

The following pictures were taken over a span of about an hour and they tell the story.

"Stop taking pictures of me!"

 You can't see it very well, but that's Sarah on the ground on the left.  I'm pretty sure she was laughing so hard she might have peed her pants.

 Something doesn't seem to be working here...

"Stop telling me what to do, Donald.  I CAN DO IT MYSELF!"

"Maybe if you kick your legs up high enough..."

Good enough.

Flashback Friday... In the Beginning

I was born on a Friday, the 13th of May.  I am the 4th child of 6, but the first girl.  My mom has said she had my name picked out since she was pregnant with my oldest brother.  My parents were thrilled to finally have a girl.  They posted a huge pink poster in the window that read "IT'S A GIRL!" and had pink balloons by the front door.  :)  I'm not exactly sure how my brothers felt about having a little sister (feel free to fill me in on that, brothers) but I remember in my younger years I was just as rough and tumble as my brothers.  

My earliest memory is living in Orem, UT in the home my parents had built (I believe that's right).  The only clear-ish memory is of my Papa hobbling up and down the stairs on crutches.  Papa had gone to a batting cage on my Mommy's birthday and blown out his knee.  Mommy jokes that he learned his lesson.  

When I was 3 years old my family moved to Bangkok, Thailand.  That's where my next clear-ish memory is from.  We lived in a large apartment (condo?).  My first memory from there is driving home at night and looking out the window of the van at the lights on all the tall buildings.  I remember when we got dropped off that night I was soooo tired.  I thought it was pure torture that I had to walk to the elevator.  Ha!  The mind of a kid.  :)

I cherish my childhood memories from Thailand.  :)  When I was 6 years old, my one and only sister was born.  Since ultrasounds were not routine in those days my parents went to the hospital not knowing the baby's gender.  My parents had bought 2 movies for us kids to watch while they were in the hospital.  We got to watch one movie if it was a girl and a different movie if it was a boy.  I can't remember what the boy movie was, but my 4 brothers were rooting for it.  The movie we got to watch if it was a girl was The Little Mermaid.  When the phone rang that day we all clamored to get it, but my brother Adam was the one who got to it first.  I remember him listening for a minute and then saying "Oh" and hanging up the phone.  He walked away in a sulk and mumbled something about the Little Mermaid.  Whoo hoo!  I had a sister!  :)  I've always had a mothering personality and my parents would often tell me I was "Not the Mama!"  So when I finally had a baby sister I was sure that she was my baby to take care of.  :)

I only remember a handful of friends from Thailand, but one of those friends was Lucas.  Don't ask me his last name because I can't remember.  We had lots of fun and got into lots of mischief together.  I loved playing sports and although I don't think we were ever on the same team, our recesses were full of soccer, kick ball and tether-ball.  I played t-ball and soccer and LOVED it.  I played a variety of positions in t-ball but I earned the nick name of Flower when I played left field.  Not many 6 year olds can hit a ball that far, so I kept myself busy picking flowers.  :)

One memory of Lucas happened when we were over at his house.  After we had played with his fancy smancy toys we went to the kitchen for a snack.  We quickly drank our Yoohoos and then went to the pantry in search of something else.  Lucas found a jar of green olives with pimento in the center.  He said it was expensive.  Then he closed the door to the walk in pantry and we sat down and ate the whole jar right then and there.  I remember feeling so sneaky. I'm not sure why I ate them because I don't even like green olives. Ha!  :)  

Here's a picture of myself with Lucas:

Flashback Friday

I love reading C. Jane Kendrick's blog, but I don't have the chance to peruse it very often, but when I do I am grateful for the time I spend there.  She's open, honest and human and a well written woman.  :)  She is writing her personal history in a series of blog posts.  I have been contemplating doing that very thing for quite some time now, but haven't done anything about it.  Now I'm making the goal to share one story from my life (or my kids lives) every Friday. I'm sharing this now so I'm accountable.  I hope to be able to record some of the experiences that have made me Me.  :)
For months now I've been wanting to get back into blogging, but have needed an extra push to get me there.  I think C. Jane's blog posts have been a little push.  I wish I could promise that I'll be better about posting pictures and cute stories about the kids, but honestly, I can't promise that.  But I do want to do it, so eventually I think I'll get there again.  
So stay tuned for a new post tomorrow.  And feel free to leave a little love in the comments.  It should make it easier to post every week.  :)

We are still alive

Hi all,
Robyn and I have been busy as usual, but we do still exist, and below is documentation to prove it.
Happy May 1st!

 We all caught a little cold over the past month, and Robyn used her nebulizer. I put it on as a joke, but then Aiden fussed when I tried to take off the nebulizer pack. What a cutie!

 Here is Miss Esther on our new chair! We sold the fish tank and the old rocker/glider and got this:)

 Robyn is so talented--she painted this mural on our wall so our room doesn't feel like a big white-walled box.

 Esther and Aiden love going on walks. Now that the dandelions are out, Esther wants to stop and pick every yellow one, or blow every white one.

Esther looks little in this picture, but she is 'a big girl,' always wanting to do things on her own, by herself, no help, etc etc etc. She also loves having her picture taken.
Hope you liked the peek into our life the past month!