OUR CARS

I seem to remember mentioning that we name our cars. My family has since I was little, and I suspect others do the same. Here is a family photo album of the cars that have come and gone in my life.

My first car was an old 2-door Toyota Tercel. She was good to me. She was loyal, hard working, and all mine. She was my baby. I can't count the number of times I had to encourage her up a steep hill with cries of, "C'mon, Baby! You can do it, girl!" She and I went on many drives together, when I needed to escape...working that stick shift like a race car driver. I loved her like an old friend.

Sadly, this is the only picture I have of the ol' girl...which is really only a picture of me...six years ago...looking very orange.


Despite her old age, Baby let me put an insane amount of miles on her until one day, she just kind of melted from the inside out. I had to actually pay someone to take her and give her a proper burial.

Within a month, I met Andrew. He was working full-time, and living the high single life. As such, he could afford his brand-new Dodge Ram. Her name was Roxy.

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Roxy holds a special place in my heart, because she took us on our first date, was around for the long good night kisses of engaged life, traveled with us on our honeymoon, and to our new home in Rexburg. However, Roxy was too expensive for newly-wed college students to keep long-term. And we needed two vehicles.

So we traded with Andrew's sister for a more affordable Toyota Camry, and then bought a beater Dodge Dakota pick-up for Andrew. The Dakota was quickly dubbed: Dusty. It just seem to fit. The Camry, luxurious beyond anything I had ever driven, was named after what she appeared to be in my eyes: Porsche. Power windows and a working air conditioner?? I had never owned such a vehicle in my life!

About a year later, again seeking smaller payments, we traded Porsche in and got a Dodge Status. She has been my mode of transportation for a couple of years now, and we are getting along swimmingly. But I still haven't gotten over the power windows and air conditioning bit. It still blows my mind. I call this one Lexus.

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What if I actually end up with a real Lexus one day, you ask? I don't know, I'd probably name her Bessie or something. Or Butch.

But speaking of Lexus, I got in the car this week after work, and happened to notice that she was at exactly 50,000 miles. I thought it was worth documenting...even if only with my cell phone camera.

About the same time that we got Lexus, Andrew traded Dusty in for a more reliable, and actually, a more affordable truck. Andrew picked the name: Candy. I realize that this isn't the toughest of names for a big, manly truck, but Andrew is very adamant on the fact that all vehicles are female. So "Candy," she is.

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On a side note, we will own Candy free and clear after one more payment. What a beautiful feeling...

This accomplishment was made possible in part, by the sale of Mia the Miata! (Click HERE for more of her story.)

Anyway. What is your car's name and personality?



DROPPING OUT

Between work, school, church assignments, housework, errands, and marriage...life has been kind of INSANE lately. How am I supposed to find time for everything that I need to get accomplished in a day? I recently came across this quote that helped put things into perspective.


Ezra Taft Benson said:
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"When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue and the order of our priorities..."


As life has gotten busier with the school year, I was curious to see what would be the thing to naturally "drop out". Sadly enough, it seems to have been...blogging. I just don't have the time that I'd like to put into it at present. But I enjoy blogging too much to give it up yet! My goal is to get at least one post out there a week. We'll see how it goes. Just don't give up on me, okay?


Completely Frazzled,

Rachel

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOYS AND GIRLS

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It was recess time for the preschool class I taught during the summer. As usual, the kids exploded through the door to the playground with unrestrained joy.
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But soon, things calmed down. The boys clamored on to a miniature plastic jungle gym, lost in their world of mechanical, pyrotechnic sound effects. The girls, crawled under the slide whispering their secrets in privacy. Minutes later, however, the girls are bored and crawled out to look around. After a moment, one of them turned to the other and said:

Pretend that we are princesses and that we are best friends, okay?

The other agreed before declaring that they must now find themselves a prince.

Both of their eyes fell on the boys across the yard, who meanwhile, had become engrossed in an epic battle with an unseen enemy (sound effects included). The girls grasped hands, smoothed their hair, and walked together across the play yard. Looking up at their four-year-old classmate, one asked:

Prince? Which one of us do you want to marry?






The boys continued their mission without so much as a glance at the hopeful faces below.

Un-phased, the little girl with the golden curls, asked again:


Prince? Which on of us do you want to marry?


As if suddenly aware of the females, the little prince pondered them for an instant before pulling out his imaginary machine gun and showering them with bullets. The two-year-old boy, upon noticing their new enemies, joined his brother comrade in shouting:


BANG! BANG! BANG!


The girls faces fell.


I guess the prince doesn't want to marry either of us, one said.


Hmmph. Come on...let's go! stormed the other.

The girls stomped back to their play castle, and climbed to the top of the tallest tower. And then, as the boys celebrated their victory, the girls entertained themselves instead, by ad-libbing a ten-minute-long pop song that went something like:

"We didn't want that prince, anyy-waaay!"




Just another summer day with the toddler class. Entertaining as always.

MIGHT AS WELL BE LIVING ON THE SUN

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As promised, here is the story of our very impromptu adventure to the first BYU game of the season.
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We picked up our free tickets at the gate, and made our way to the sunniest seats in the stadium.
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I'm sorry. Did I say sunniest seats? I meant the sweatiest, stickiest most miserably blinding-est, seats from HELL.
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I don't know if I'm allowed to use that word in relation to anything BYU, but no other word comes to mind at the moment.
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It was over 100 degrees, we were facing directly into the sun...and I guess we Idahoans have forgotten what 100 degrees feels like.
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(Why does anyone live in Arizona, again? I forget.)
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I don't know who this guy was sitting next to me, but I very nearly murdered him for his makeshift sunshade.
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I'm telling you...the heat was brutal.
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I sat for the first half, glaring at the sickeningly happy people in the shade on the other side of the stadium.

Punks.

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.But then, Andrew bought me this highly overpriced, highly delicious frozen lemonade from HEAVEN itself--and my body began to return to a somewhat normal temperature.

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From then on, I was finally able to relax and enjoy the game.

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GO BYU FOOTBALL!!!
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The only thing to annoy now were the Huskies' fans. There weren't very many of them, but they sure made their presence known to the world.

At least the event staff made these guys put their shirts back on in the first quarter.

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They would be sure to high-five each other after every single play that was good for them and bad for us. It was so deliberate and so consistent that it became quite comical. And if they were especially cheery after a play, they would go so far as to taunt the BYU crowd around them.

I found myself rooting for BYU more than ever...just so those guys would sit down and be quiet.

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But we did win. And everything was right again.

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Totally worth the trip. Once the sun went down, that is. Happy way to kick off the college football season!

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LATELY

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. Here in Idaho, it is beginning to feel like autumn already. Where else do people get their winter coats out in September?
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I just started class #3 in my graduate program. I hate that all of my free time outside of work is spent writing papers. Only five more classes to go...

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I survived Back to School Night. There's something about giving a presentation to twenty-something sets of parents that makes me want to crawl whimpering under the covers.

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I walked into the house recently, to find a coffee table sitting in our living room. We've never had a coffee table sitting in our living room before. Andrew had built it and brought it home from work for me, still exuding a strong smell of lacquer. Isn't it beautiful?

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Ignore the squatter sleeping on my couch.

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School started again for BYU-Idaho.

This brings traffic, a crowded Wal-Mart, and certain little sisters back from Arizona. I missed said sister mucho. Here she is getting moved in to her new apartment.
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Check out the view from her bedroom window! (cell phone pictures)
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Last weekend, I woke up Saturday morning, excited to tackle a long list of projects. Just as I finished organizing my long TO DO LIST, Andrew called and asked if I wanted to drive down to Provo for a BYU game...in an hour. Free tickets from his boss, you see.

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After a reminder that Monday was a holiday, and a promise from Andrew to clean the bathroom, I was convinced. More pictures to come later of this impromptu adventure...

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PHOTOGRAPHY ATTEMPT

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Here's a peek at the engagements I took last month.


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Brad is bringing along these three gorgeous kids into the marriage. Check out Nicole's beautiful blue eyes!

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One of many of Alex's silly face expressions during this shoot. If I asked everyone for a smile, he would scowl, close his eyes, or glare at me. If I asked everyone for a serious face, he would be the only one with a bright, happy smile. =) .

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Sweet little Whitney...

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These were just a few of the pictures. Check out some of the best ones right HERE.

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