redheads and RIP

there is a certain code between neighbors. you're polite, you compliment their flower garden, you wave hello when they drive by on their way to work. if you get really friendly with them, you might teach their children piano lessons or invite them to join your weekly book clubs. it's all well and good to be friends with your neighbors, but the problem with neighbors is that when things don't go so smooth, they're still your neighbors. if you have a breakup with a friend, chances are you don't see that friend anymore. but ah, the neighbors, they will still be across the street, taking their dog for a walk in front of your house, and possibly sitting in the pew across from you in church services.

you might recall that for mother's day, travis gave me two little kittens. they were adorable and sweet and it was very thoughtful of him.

but what does this have to do with the code of ethics between neighbors?

let's do a little math equation:

sweet neighbor cat gives birth + neighbors give you two cute little kittens + the kittens disappear after two months

= their adorable four redheaded children asking me "how are the kittens doing?" with their giant blue eyes staring up at me. and me answering, "um. well. the kittens, they disappeared."

gasps.

me adding: "we're really really sad about it! we looked everywhere but they are gone. we hope someone nice just took them in."

those beautiful blue orbs still staring as their expressions
turn to disgust at the cat killer before them.

then i run into their father a few days later. he is a very serious and solemn man. he asks me the dreaded question and i get the same kind of reaction. lying did cross my mind, until i thought about the kids asking me to see pictures and me having to print pictures of cats i find online and carry them around with me when i'm near their house. and that was just too messy.

the truth shall not set me free.
for i am a cat killer.

the moral of the story is: don't take free things from the neighbors. don't accept favors or darling little kittens, especially if there are four little kids who adore said kittens and are devastated to see them go. and then to hear that they have disappeared.

also, between this and the whole me wanting to kill roxy thing, please don't show my blog to peta. thanks :)

also, as humorous as i try to make this post sound
i really was upset about the cats disappearing

hope you're in a better place kittehs.

doodle humps

real quick.

i have to go take a test, but i needed a break from studying.

a couple days ago, travis and i were running errands. we decided to take charlie along, since we try to take him along everywhere we go. after hitting the bank, we had to go to one of the fire stations to sell a guy our leftover roofing supplies. the guys working aren't guys i know very well, since they aren't on travis's platoon or crew. i was happy to have charlie along, because he is a great icebreaker.

when we walked up to the station, charlie ran up to one of the guys (i will name him billy for privacy's sake) and i waited for the usual response: "oh wow! cute dog!"

nothing. except billy seemed annoyed and acted like charlie was in his way. i quickly called charlie over to me. billy didn't seem to be a dog person. (which is fine; i don't like most dogs either.)

travis talked to billy and another guy for what seemed like hours while i tried to keep charlie out of the way. the other guy really liked him and that made me feel less awkward. i finally asked billy, "do you have a dog?" he told me he didn't, that he wasn't really a dog person.

as we were getting ready to leave, the guys started teasing us about being newlyweds and all the "perks" that come along with that. dirty, dirty firemen. :) just as i was teasing them back, charlie, seeming to sense the sexual vibes of the conversation, approached billy, mounted his leg, and full throttle humped him.

i was thoroughly shocked that my sweet, innocent doodle could know how to do that. and then billy, probably to save face, had to ask,

"have you ever seen travis do that before?"

needless to say, i won't be taking charlie back to that fire station any time soon.

douglas clyde charles

in honor of father's day i would like to say a few things.

this is my dad: douglas clyde charles

and me, obviously. this was taken last saturday after we went mountain biking up millcreek canyon, had spoon me, and then curry in a hurry, in that order.

my dad is a really great person. everyone says that about their dads, usually, but really my dad is a great person. even if he weren't my father, i would still be his friend.

these are a few examples of my dad's character.

growing up, my dad worked hard. he worked at a job he hated, fidelity investments, for a long time. even with all the long hours, he still had time to play catch with us, cook dinner with my mom, come to all our sports and music events, and take us on trips. my dad is huge on working hard and playing hard, so we spent summers at my family's cabin in island park, where my dad dragged us out fly fishing and took us motorbiking. in the winters he planned huge snowmobiling trips. my parents didn't have much money, but the little they had was spent making memories with our family.

when i graduated from high school, i told everyone i was moving to the beach to become a bum. my dad would have none of that, and he straight up told me that if i didn't move out and go to college, he would kick me out. if i went to college, he would help me pay for it. the kicker was that i had to move out. none of this living at home going to school thing i wanted to do. that summer we fought every time we spoke and i thought he was pretty much the meanest man alive. looking back, i'm so glad he kicked me out of the nest, because i learned so much living on my own.

my dad met travis two years ago, when he was picking me up for a date. my dad was in the kitchen cooking and i thought, i'll leave these two alone for awhile and see how it goes. (my dad totally denies this story.) as i was leaving the room to "grab my purse" i heard my dad ask travis, "so. you want to be a fireman. isn't that really hard on your family life?" DAD! my dad really wasn't TEAMTRAVIS for a long time and it was because he wanted me to be sure about such a huge decision.

my dad adores my mom. i have this memory of a time we were on a motorbike ride with the family. we were riding alongside this field and suddenly my dad jumped off his bike, ran into the field, and picked a bunch of wildflowers. he ran over to my mom and handed them to her. he still flirts with her, teases her, takes her on exciting dates, and splurges for her birthdays and christmases, always surprising her. the only time i remember my dad getting really angry with my brother was when he made my mom cry. my brother got the belt that day and i vividly remember hearing the belt slap his bottom and then his screams.

my dad raised me to always try harder, always do your best, always plan something exciting to look forward to, don't worry about what other people think of you. he taught me to love good music and he's a pretty stellar dancer. he's thoughtful; he never talks about himself, but he'll listen to my silly stories. he's very generous with his time and money. the older i get the more we are friends and the more i realize i'm a lot like him. - not that i'm generous and awesome- he has flaws just like anyone else. but seriously, whenever i'm being ridiculously stubborn and sarcastic and travis calls me "doug" - it's the best feeling. i'm so thankful to have a father who takes care of our family and is a wonderful example of living life to the fullest.

happy father's day daddy! love you!

the sportsbra not hottie who helped me break my good streak

ok. i know i made that goal to think nice thoughts and say sweet things about others. well, this story will involve me breaking my goal. (didn't take long)

you know when you meet someone and you instantly feel mutual disdain? even when it's a stranger and you haven't even had words yet? something about the way the person carries herself/himself, or maybe their scent, or terrible provo poof? (you know, the rat's nest found living atop many provo girl's crown area? i really believe it's a living thing.) and not only are you bothered by the person, but you can tell they don't care for you either?

this happened to me about a month ago. it's always surprising to me when this happens, because there aren't many people who bother me right off the bat. there's this girl who started coming to kickboxing and weights classes i go to. there's a certain behavioral code in these classes for us regulars. everyone has a certain spot, everyone gives each other their space, etc. when a newbie comes along, we give her a few classes to figure out our system, and then carry on with the new addition. well this girl, she started coming and taking my spot. i have worked up to the spot in the front left and everyone knows this is my spot. so this girl comes along and starts trying to take my spot. i'm nice about it, just kind of quietly boxing her out and getting there early enough to get it before she does. but i feel this awful feeling coming from her and i'm shooting it back, like we want to box each other's stomachs or something.

i promise i'm not that violent of a person. usually.

at first i thought, maybe i'm just jealous because she is pretty thin and works out in just a sportsbra, something i have always wanted to be bold enough to do. (my stomach has never, is not, and probably will never be rock hard abs of steel.) but then after staring at her a lot, i realized that she doesn't have that rockin' of a bod and i'm not jealous. just really shallow, apparently.

so i tried to change my thoughts about her. i smiled at her every day, said hello. she didn't respond with anything more than a nod or acknowledgment. she even started moving to the other side of the room the minute i smiled at her. i tried to think good thoughts about her, but i started thinking about her more than just at the gym. like these annoyed thoughts would pop up anytime i thought about my workout or going the next day. as much as i tried, i still dreaded seeing her every day, and even started going to different classes to avoid her, because seeing her made me break my goal of being nice.

last friday, i got to the kick class a few minutes late. she was there. in my spot. so i took the spot next to her and took a deep breath. the minute she saw me, she stopped warming up, grabbed her jacket and keys, and walked out. walked out! this is not in my head!

i didn't see her at all this week. and i haven't thought any nice thoughts about her, in fact, i keep thinking "i won!" over and over.

i don't even know her name. i don't know anything about her. all i know is i don't like her and she doesn't like me. and i don't see that changing anytime soon. :)

everyday life, including neighbor dick and dirty dirk

thursday night. i just finished watching dirty dirk and co. defeat the heat with my dad. that is i watched it with my dad, not that my dad helped in the defeating. ahem.

i was lucky enough to see travis for a day this week. he'll be back next tuesday morning. ah, the things i could say sometimes about being a firefighter's wife... but i won't because it's just late and i'm just lonely. his job makes him so happy and there are many perks for me as well. i just can't think of any right now.

life has been pretty wild the past month. i overestimated my willpower and am doing summer semester. i thought i would give the trax business a break and do online school. so far it's not my favorite thing, but i'm trying to make the most of it. and the thousands of dollars i paid to participate in pretty much teaching myself the course material. i'm taking health psychology, psychology of love, (i know, right?) and, here's the kicker, infancy development. oh yeah, i'm learning all about pregnancy, infancy, and babies! i was signed up for adult development, but there wasn't enough enrollment (surprise) so i had to scramble at the last minute, and guess what class was the only one left? but really, it's fascinating and i'm learning so much. i have butt loads of respect for the female body and what it's capable of, but i don't necessarily want to utilize the lady bits right now.

what else? oh yeah the house being for sale. so there have been a few very interested people, but no offers yet. it keeps me on edge, because the house has to stay spotless all the time and i never know when the phone will ring and i'll have to grab charlie and vacate the premises so strangers can come over and touch my belongings. it's all very exciting though and i know it will be worth the stress.

so remember our grumpy neighbor, dick, (bah!) the racist? well, i have been trying to make friends, like always saying hi and asking him how he's doing, and i have made some progress, but the other day was serious friendship making. i had charlie outside and he was on his porch staring at us. i said good morning and he asked me what i had there. i took the initiative and dragged charlie across the street so he could pet him. we had a full on conversation and he ended up telling me all these personal things about his life. he also asked me about "the damn sign" in our yard and that he hoped we wouldn't be able to sell. thanks a bunch dick. :) feels good to have made a friend out of the old basty.

also. i have a new goal. when we were in junior high, my friend lilian and i made a pact that we wouldn't talk about people behind their backs and it made a huge difference in our happiness levels. so now that i have talked ish on neighbor dick, i will set this goal, no more gossip, negative thoughts, etc. about other people. i used to be a lot better at giving people the benefit of the doubt, so it's time for a change.

life really is great. when you stop complaining about never seeing your husband and how "rough" school is. enjoy some pictures of our getaway to island park last weekend and have a nice night.

we taught charlie to walk upright. like a human.

went four wheeling all day and enjoyed sunshine.