tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87485327656402994472024-03-05T16:46:54.189-08:00The Cudger ChroniclesThe scoop on Bears 'n BiscuitsLJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-52090575408917276742016-08-17T13:10:00.001-07:002016-08-17T13:10:39.545-07:00First Day of School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's finally here. It's been a bit of a rough one for me. Having him gone for 7 hours most days is just so much. I get to pick him up in a little over an hour and hopefully hear how great it was. He blew kisses at his brother and me for almost a full minute as we dropped him off. So sweet.LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-888751775985194552016-01-18T20:28:00.000-08:002016-01-19T13:17:11.899-08:00How to be an advocate for changeEver since I was little, I've often fantasized about living in the pre-civil war era in the USA just so that I could be the voice of reason among people who didn't seem to know the first thing about human rights. But the more I learn about history as well as the things currently going on, the more I realize that my voice would likely not have made one bit of a difference. I would have just been one more person that, because of the situation I was raised in, was not dependent on slaves for my livelihood or standard of living and could therefor easily see it for the travesty it was.<br />
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But. For the sake of argument, if I somehow could go back, maybe, just maybe I could use my social graces to change some minds. Based off of how I handle current ethically problematic commonplace practices, I think it would go a little something like this:<br />
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That actually played out even better than I was picturing. I really nailed it talking with that redhead lady and getting her to turn her horribleness around. And that whole comic really highlighted my amazing typography skills. But really. How do you stand up against all the commonplace atrocities being committed around us every day without just alienating everyone around you? Because, if you pay attention at least, many of our small daily choices make us directly complicit in the suffering of other humans and animals. How do you convince yourself that there is any point in caring about any of it when making a real difference seems so impossible? Do you just try to not be awful to those closest to you and call it a day? I sure wish I had some halfway decent answers.<br />
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But. For now, I guess I'll keep periodically saying foolish things that alienate most of my friends and family. I'll do it for the exploited people in the third world. And the non-human animals everywhere. It's the least I can do.<br />
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Literally.LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-30006545052149419082015-11-21T21:46:00.001-08:002015-11-26T11:16:47.912-08:00Skeletons, notes, and sort-of-snowBitties has been saying the cutest things lately. He's always telling me that he loves me followed by a big hug and then a kiss on the shoulder (because he only kisses fabric).<br />
Here's one of my favorite things he's said lately:<br />
"Mom, I know you love me but I need to go to <i>bed</i>!" (he did not actually go to bed but I appreciated the sentiment)<br />
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"Mom, I like bedtime because it's so cozy" Said at lunchtime while hugging himself tightly and wiggling from side to side) <br />
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Speaking of skeletons, that boy sure is obsessed. I've made a book of skeletons for him that's full of a combination of drawings and skeletons printed from the computer for him to color. We've really managed to create some masterpieces together:<br />
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Incidentally, you may be wondering if he's suffering from sleeping problems and/or nightmares. All I can say is...not yet. I guess we'll see how this all pans out in the long run with some hindsight. And I'll have you know that the creepy tongue in the picture below was completely his idea. He coached me through the whole thing. <br />
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There was a skeleton I'd printed from the computer that looked too sad and it was upsetting him. He kept saying that we needed to make him happy so I drew a new head and glued it over the old one. Now the skeleton looks like he's nonchalantly explaining something. Cracks me up. Bitties is very pleased with the outcome.<br />
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Bears has taken to creating drawings for me, folding and taping them up, writing "TO MOM" on them, and sliding them under the door whenever I'm in the bathroom. The drawings pretty much always featured him and me hanging out but since Bitties started wondering where he was in these pictures, Bears has taken to adding him to the pictures too. In the big picture below, he tells me that I'm covering my eyes because he's made a surprise picnic for me. Pretty adorable.<br />
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A couple of times now, Bitties has wanted to bundled tightly in his blankets with his kitties "tucked safely in my tummy" he says. I think he gets it from me telling him that I want to put him back in my tummy, something that my mom always used to say to me when I was little. I guess it sounds kind of creepy now that I'm writing it out but I sure liked it as a kid and they seem to as well. Here he is fast asleep with his kitties bundled safe and sound:<br />
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Bears has been pretty into a character called the Ping Pong Bandit. It's serious business.<br />
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It...sort of snowed the other day and the kids insisted on playing in it. There wasn't enough to really do anything so they spent most of their time sneaking slush right off the grass when they thought I wasn't looking.<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-76671457389707585712015-10-27T23:18:00.000-07:002015-10-27T23:18:02.043-07:00LatelyIt's been a while so I thought I'd post really quickly on some important events. First off, and to ward off any concerns, I'd like to say that Locke's costume game is still pretty impressive: <br />
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This picture perfectly summarizes Bitties' personality to me. It's got everything he loves most: his kitties, skeleton costume, snacks, and spooky reading material (Spooky Old Tree, in case anyone's thinking of adding to their library).<br />
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He's...pretty into skeletons these days: <br />
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This is the only outfit that Fox wanted to wear for the entire summer and let me tell you--summer 2015 was glorious. I'm sure that it was mostly because of this costume. He'd even insist on wearing it when we were out hiking and would give frights to all the hikers that crossed our path.<br />
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There was that time that they both got soap in their eyes and loved it...<br />
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...that time that we realized that dying your hands is much cooler than the easter eggs we'd originally intended... <br />
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...that time that I helped them draw their "favorite feelings" on balloons. This was followed by a balloon battle to the death (Happy Face won but it was dirty play because Fox employed a full body launch from the couch onto Super-maddest-in-the-world-Face)<br />
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...and that time that we had the spookiest Spook party with some cute cousins and family:<br />
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This picture depicts up each of their personalities really well:<br />
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Real kitty photobomb<br />
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Fox still sleeps cuddled up to both his kitties every night. <br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-77410275819304230482015-06-16T15:18:00.000-07:002015-06-16T19:27:19.377-07:00Flirting With DeathLike always, there's a fair amount of construction going on the freeway by our house these days. It makes me nervous because in these zones, they do away with the usual emergency pull out lanes because there's no space for them (I guess?) so there's nowhere to swerve if things get ugly. There were a lot of trucks on the freeway today as I made my way home with the boys. It was so unnerving being sandwiched between a semi and a concrete wall that I became convinced several times that the trucks were about to move into my lane and I kept flooring the gas to get ahead of them. Finally, it occurred to me that I could just go into the fast lane if I wanted to stop stressing about being smashed by a semi since they're not even legally allowed to enter that lane.<br />
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We were getting close to the end of the construction zone when the semi truck to the right of me started merging into my super-safe-from-giant-trucks lane. No worries, there's well over 1 foot of buffer room that I can veer left into so I move as close to the wall as I can, careening through blown-out tires and flooring the gas, hoping to get ahead of him in time. But I can see that it's not gonna cut it--it's close but we won't quite clear the front of his cab. So I did the only thing that I could think to do...and really, as anyone who frequently hangs out with me knows, it was the only thing that I was ever going to do in a situation like this. It was almost as if all my life had been preparing me for this moment: I let out a wild, "eeeeEEEEEEeeeeEEEEEeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And just like that, the foot to the left of my lane expanded into five feet and it was just enough to make the difference and we hurled through the death trap untouched. The boys were laughing and begging me to do it again. I looked in my rear view mirror just as the driver managed to over correct, fishtail for a while, and finally get it together without killing anyone.<br />
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After we were in front of the truck, it occurred to me that I should try to get the number on the back of the truck so I could call the company and inform them that one of their drivers seems to be taking a page from the stylings of a pinball machine. I moved to the right lane and slowed down, waiting for the truck to pass but it kept slowing down with me and after we cleared the construction zone, he pulled over onto the side of the road so I pulled over just in front of him. Prepared to give him a piece of my mind and take down his information, I grabbed the only useful things available to write with: half of a blue crayon and a Halloween coloring book. I must have made an intimidating sight because as soon as the driver saw me, he burst into tears and could only muster, "sorry, sorry...so sorry..." while wrapping me up in a bear hug. Eventually, he told me that there must be something wrong with the vehicle because it just started veering left, that he had been really scared, and was now gonna head straight to the shop. I mumbled something along the lines of, "yeah...you'd better...that was not a safe thing you had going on there...what with almost killing us and all..." Not quite the hard ass lecture I'd planned. He started crying and hugging me again, this time giving my shoulder a kiss which was every bit as sweet as it was unnerving. Well. Maybe more on the unnerving side. But still sweet. I think.<br />
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We parted ways after that and I didn't get any information. Partly because I just couldn't wait to get home and because leaving my kids on the side of the freeway so that I could take the precarious walk to the back of his truck sounded really unappealing. I really do hope that it was just a problem with the truck and that he's able to get it fixed. And I'm more excited than ever for us to reach the point where the norm is for cars to drive themselves. Because as fond as most people are of being in total denial of this fact, basically all of us are terrible drivers. <br />
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So it seems like I should feel...I don't know...different after almost dying along with my babies. But I just mostly felt hungry. As soon as we got back, I ate a big sandwich while reflecting on the incident. The main thing that stands out is the confirmation that my last words really will likely be some sort of unintelligible squeaky shriek. And also I keep feeling the urge to quote Syrio Forel, "What do we say to the god of death?<br />
Not today."<br />
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Yup. Luckily.LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-30921494739804428702015-06-05T08:05:00.000-07:002015-06-05T08:05:46.394-07:00Videos and misc pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have hundreds of random pictures in my computer that I never managed to put into posts and I figured that now is as good a time as any to start putting some of them up. Here's Bears and Papa opening up a few presents on Christmas Eve.<br />
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This is how Bitties likes to camp out to read, play games, etc.<br />
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Dusting with the fly swatter. This was a real life saver for me that day.<br />
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After Christmas season was long over and I look down the tree, I found this tree top set up in Locke's room...I guess he wasn't quite ready to be finished with the holidays.<br />
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Bitties dressed up as Mr. Rogers and saying, "No...not Mister Rogers, I the neighbor. Won't you be my neighbor?"<br />
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Tanya sent a picture of an amazing Darth Vader tree and when Locke saw it, he realized that we had to make our own.<br />
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I never get bored of our view.<br />
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Ryan made a couple videos of the kids that turned out to be pretty epic, if you ask me.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BJUgp_H7Sjg" width="560"></iframe><br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-44650534474424847732015-05-25T14:28:00.002-07:002015-05-25T14:30:23.395-07:00Now You're Just Somebody That I Used To Know!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had some work to do in the boys' bedroom, which meant that I couldn't make use of their sleeping hours to work like I usually do. It seemed like a good idea (obviously) to employ Locke's help with distracting Fox. They both went to the room across the hall and I was half listening to them playing while working on my project. When things got suspiciously quiet, I decided to check on them. As soon as he saw me, Fox started singing, "now you just somebody that I used to know!" and Locke chimes in with, "somebodeeeee!!" Apparently, they were trying to reenact their favorite music video which features two people who have shapes painted all over themselves to blend in with the shape-painted wall behind them.<br />
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Naturally, I was just embarrassed for them and realized that I had to show them how to do it properly. It was clear that we all needed to paint an entire wall of their play room with shapes first so that we didn't look like total idiots. And then we really made this happen:<br />
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We even made our own version of the music video and I couldn't have dreamed that it would turn out so well.<br />
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Shockingly good stuff right there. Just shocking.<br />
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Here is a later attempt at Somebody That I Used To Know paint by Locke. He really nailed it this time.<br />
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Bitties just being generally mischievous:<br />
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And this one time that I baked a pot pie. I am so domestic.<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-13403619365874866682015-04-21T16:38:00.001-07:002015-04-22T12:54:31.726-07:00Locke's 5! And Summer is here! With a bit of winter. Because that's how we do it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Locke turned five last week and got a bike. Ryan taught him how to ride it a few days ago and Locke's been biking like crazy ever since. On Sunday we went for a 10 mile run and he rode his bike for 6 of those miles. Then today he cranked out just shy of 6 miles again on his bike. I can't really express how excited I am that we're really getting to the point where I can go long distances with Locke and not have to carry or push him along.<br />
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They didn't show up as well as I'd hoped in this photo but the springtime flowers are looking so gorgeous!<br />
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Today was our first long distance outing where I just brought the single stroller for Fox so there was no other way for Locke to get around besides his bike. It was a pretty risky plan but we pulled it off without a hitch. Well. There was a slight hiccup. At one point we had to cross a busy street without a crosswalk and halfway across the road, Locke put his bike down, announced that he needed a drink, and pulled out his water bottle just as three cars were barreling disconcertingly close. But. He responded quickly when I took his water bottle and calmly directed him (with my best shrill and panicked, yet stoic voice) to hurry and finish crossing the street with me. And...we made it. Although all three cars had to come to a full stop before we did. So there is some room for improvement. But as far as making it the whole 6 miles without any fatalities or even injuries, it was a 100% success. So that's got to count for something...right? As I was pulling Fox out of the stroller after we'd gotten home, he said in a voice almost too soft to make out, "I love...I love going to adventures with you, mom." Such a sweet boy.<br />
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So it may be the summer part of spring this week, but last week we were lucky enough to get a snow day. Or as Fox likes to call it, free treats from the sky day. We got caught in the storm while jogging back from dropping Locke off to preschool and by the time we got home, the stroller cover was completely plastered in snow. As soon as we got home and Bitties got a good look of the situation, he grabbed a cup and started scooping snow off the stroller until the entire cup was full. But he didn't stop there, he started trying to scoop up all over the yard and ended up with many dirt and stick-filled cups before I realized that I really needed to be putting plates out to catch the snow. When all was said and done, this boy downed 8 cups of snow. Hopefully it was a good air quality day because that's a whole lot of sky to be eating.<br />
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As I mentioned earlier, it was Locke's birthday last week and Tess offered to host a party at her house. There was cake, friends, and new clothes. This boy loves clothes. It was some fun times.<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-77275183620389053002015-04-18T22:46:00.002-07:002015-04-19T14:54:37.675-07:00To the man who used to live by the river<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today I saw your cart laying on its side in the river. I first noticed something was off when I jogged past your usual spot under the bridge to find your cart, rather than spilling over with the same grocery bags and trinkets that I'd grown accustomed to over the year, nearly empty; it's former contents littering the ground and jogging path. Over the next weeks, I kept looking for you, expecting to see your familiar shape huddled in your maroon blankets and sleeping bag...but the only thing I saw was that same cart, each day looking more dilapidated and abandoned as it moved by unseen hands ever closer to the river. I worried for you, this person I'd become used to seeing every day while out on my usual jog. This person who was always sleeping under a pile of blankets, surrounded by empty bottles from attempts to dull whatever pain it was that you were facing. I felt something of a kinship with you...and I'm embarrassed to admit now, I also felt a bit of pride about worrying over you. As if that, all by itself, made me a good person. But then I realized that in the hundreds of times that I did see you, I never once made an attempt to make a show of solidarity or even acknowledge your existence. All this worry and kinship was just a fantasy that existed only in my head.<br />
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So...that realization didn't make me feel so great. I may as well have been harboring delusions about my superiority over you and making erroneous moral judgments about why you were there. That's the lovely flip side to keeping our thoughts private: we don't harm anyone but ourselves with the bile of our own prejudice. But there does seem to be something...I don't know. Something wrong about harboring a fantasy of kindness and never actually sharing it. If I get to feel good about myself for not conveying contempt when I feel it toward someone else then it follows that I don't get to feel like a hero for secretly worrying over you.<br />
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Alright then. I promise you, right here and now that if I do see you again, I will acknowledge you. Probably not by talking to you...I could say that it's because you've always been sleeping whenever I've passed by but that wouldn't be completely true. The combination of my social anxiety and fear of engaging a strange man while I'm alone with my two small children hold me back. But I will pick up a couple things from the market for you that will hopefully be helpful and show you that you're not alone. I hope to see you again, even as I hope that I never do because you've found a better situation. But most of all, I hope I will actually take action next time when I'm in a similar situation instead of doing nothing until it's too late.<br />
<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-25657532068097510222015-03-01T19:20:00.000-08:002015-03-01T19:20:29.224-08:00Friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Locke and Fox have actually begun to enjoy hanging out with each other even more lately. It's pretty great. That's not to say that there aren't still roughly 30,000 daily battles between the two of them. but. I'm really enjoying the direction that we're heading.We recently got an ottoman and they're really enjoying helping each other hide in it--sometimes together as shown here. <br />
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Dressing up is still their favorite. They've even developed a song that they chant while they're marching to the Costume Center: "Let's dress up, deu deu! Let's dress up, deu, deu!!..."<br />
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Locke is now officially the coolest person in Fox's mind. He's always looking to Locke to figure out what the cool kids do. <br />
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In case you weren't aware, dressing up is the thing that cool kids do. <br />
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Locke was getting pretty irritated that Fox wasn't intimidated by his little orange sword.<br />
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Fox: "Oh no!! Vampiyah hunta comin' to get me!!"<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-69324194877742280652015-02-27T16:04:00.001-08:002015-02-28T07:52:45.165-08:00Basically, I believe in cat reincarnation. That's what it boils down to.So I was going to just write about something cute that happened this morning but I realized it won't really make sense unless I provide some background first. In my late teens and into my early twenties, I had a cat named Muffin. This period of my life was...not the happiest and I am not exaggerating when I say that this cat probably saved my life. I didn't feel that I had much to live for at the time. I had lost my faith in anything supernatural and the idea that purpose and meaning were things that I had to craft for myself left me reeling and rudderless. I remember casually telling my friends that everyone needs a Jesus--something that you can safely pour all your love into and know it will never hurt or leave you--and that's what my cat was to me. So basically, I took the void where religion used to be and...put. my. cat. there. I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And in my defense, she was a really special, sweet feline person. But while I was right about her being safe in the sense that she would always be a reflection of unconditional love, the gaping flaw in my logic became apparent when she died of kidney failure at the tender age of six. I only mention this to underscore just how attached I was to this cat. Anyway, back to today.<br />
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This morning as I was getting ready, Fox picked up an old picture of me and Muffin. "Oohh...looka this!" He says, excitedly. I tell him that it's a picture of me and my silver kitty friend, Muffin. His eyebrows furrow and he proclaims, "No...no. That's me! Remember that? You were holding me!" This is either the second or third time that he's said this about this particular photo.<br />
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Now...I just want to say first off that I don't seriously entertain the notion that this could in any literal sense be true. For one thing, he's always asserting that he's the subject of photos (baby photos of Locke, for instance, are always actually Fox. According to Fox.). For another thing, I hate to be boastful, but I have enough skill in the arena of logic and reason to recognize how absurd it is to think that bitty Fox is really my dead cat made alive again. And yet...and yet. It is so comforting to me to take him at his word on this one. To believe him even knowing full well that this is impossible.<br />
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Maybe it's because he's part of what fills the same space in my heart that that silly, sweet cat left open and raw in her wake. Maybe it's because they share the same tendency to cry mournfully whenever I have the audacity to go somewhere and leave them behind. Or maybe it's just something innately human. A primal need to believe in things not because they're true but because they're useful. I don't really understand how a belief can be comforting even when the holder of said belief is aware that it's limited to the confines of their own mind. But. It somehow manages to work for me. My old kitty friend could never be replaced but it's so nice to feel that in some way, her tiny spirit managed to weave its way back to me through my little boy. So I'll roll with it. <3
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<!--3--><!--3-->LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-86311302420210982012015-02-19T15:33:00.001-08:002015-02-27T16:44:31.151-08:00JulepI've been mildly obsessed with a group called Punch Brothers lately. It's rare to find artists that are incredibly talented in every single aspect required to make a song but (in my opinion) these guys have totally nailed it.<br />
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If I ever end up being able to write anything half this beautiful I...will be. good. good things are the things I will be thinking about my skills. This particular example of my writing skill has really bolstered my confidence. Here's their stuff:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">I died happy in my sleep</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Our children around and you looking down</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">from heaven's a julep on the porch</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">You and me rocking the grandfather clock is tick tick talking</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">to the time we used to wind it</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">She brought the sugar and the mint</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">And he brought the whiskey</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Asked for my blessing</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">"Yes sir, I know she's</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">heaven's a julep on the porch"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">You and me rocking the grandfather clock is tick tick talking</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">to the time we used to wind it</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Now the time stands still</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">We can drink our fill</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Out of silver</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">That will never</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Tarnish like we will</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">You weren't just a girl that I should meet</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">You were the girl that I would meet</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">For drinks in the backyard</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">A beautiful daughter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">A Lifetime of summer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">And love ever after</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">I died happy in my sleep</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Our children around and you looking down from</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Heaven's a julep on the porch</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">You and me rocking the grandfather clock is tick tick tick tick</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">talking to the time we used to wind it</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">God the time We used to wind it...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ppn7eQSBdJQ" width="560"></iframe>LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-53223619408844252492015-01-15T15:42:00.000-08:002015-01-15T18:57:39.510-08:00Blasted Life<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3o0QflYUSsA" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
In case my voice is unintelligible or you just don't feel like watching a video, here it is all typed up:<br />
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I've noticed that I keep making the same types of home movies. They all feature the typical highlights and happy moments with family...but often with some melancholy undertones. I figured that I was just trying to do what we're all doing when we make home movies: trying to capture the good times so that we'll be able to reflect on them later. But the moment that I realized the truth behind why I'm so desperate to record our lives, my heart seized up with a pang of something terrible clicking unwittingly into place. Some realizations are so painful that it seems like only an idiot would think to entertain them. As someone raised inside the LDS faith, for as long as I can remember, I've felt a responsibility to do my part in ensuring that my family stays together forever. Even though my views have become secular as an adult, this feeling of responsibility has not changed. These pictures and movies are my meager attempts at thwarting mortality and even time itself all while knowing that this can't be done. Not really. But maybe that's okay. <br />
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Sometimes I get so scared that I have to remind myself to breathe. When I tell you what I'm afraid of, you'll think it's ridiculous but please hear me anyway. I'm scared that heaven is real. Because I've seen it and even now it looks back at me through the thick warped glass of time--always inviting me in; always from the other side of the same endless glass. I'm scared to think that heaven is a truly necessary place that each person has to find a way to make for themselves...because I don't know if I can. It's like I can see the pieces needed to build it but assembling and holding them in place indefinitely is too big a burden for this lone, scattered mind. I'm scared that my disorganized attempts at creating my own solace will come crumbling down the moment that I face real loss. I'm so scared. I want...no. I <i>need</i> for Heaven..and Meaning...and God, Love, Purpose, Beauty and Justice to all be objective things that exist independent of individual perspective. Like proud thick pillars that are ever vigilant to do the work of keeping humanity propped up instead of the other way around. I need the Love I feel for my family to be a physical manifestation that will wrap us all in its warm golden glow and cocoon us from time and suffering.<br />
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But. While there's no doubt that Love is very much real, its domain is the realm of the subjective, making what I need from it impossible. And it breaks my heart. Because Love feels so much bigger than that. It feels like it should easily overcome physical possibility and help us transcend time. Regardless, what I can do is record a few snippets of our lives and see that those recordings are protected for at least a while--maybe long enough that someday our great-great-grand kids could see this...and hear how I loved them one hundred years before they took their first breath.<br />
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And who knows? Maybe all these attempts to reason everything out have only muddled my ability to see the truth and after I die, some part of my consciousness will continue to exist. Maybe, if I've outlived her, I'll be greeted by my mom and my soul will get to collapse into her arms just the way it happens in my dreams. I hope so. But I try not to look for what I hope to find and instead to just...look. And not presume to know the answers to questions I'm not even sure are the right ones to ask. For whatever reason, my adult mind has been unable to weave the supernatural aspects inherent in the beautiful ideology of my childhood into the fabric of my reality.<br />
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Even so, I will never let go of you people that I love so much. I will take you, roll you up tightly, and bury you so deeply in my heart that on that quiet night when death comes for you, she will never find you here. Instead she'll find the force of all your lives shining in my chest so brightly as to chase off the dark of night and her along with it. I will do this and I will not give a care to the impossibility that I know it to be. But. Just in case, I'll also make this video.LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-1859463642056601792014-11-13T14:59:00.001-08:002014-11-13T14:59:31.563-08:00Bitties Finally Understands the Awesomeness of Dressing Up!...and Bears couldn't be more thrilled.<br />
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This Halloween really awakened the costume lover in Bitties. For a couple of weeks now he's been spending the majority of dressing up, with coloring relegated to second favorite status.<br />
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...And here are some of Bears' latest costume works. Some of them are slightly...well. terrifying. This boy loves the spooks.<br />
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oh and here are a couple pics from halloween while I'm at it<br />
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Post Halloween face painting day: <br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-977533416816654722014-08-24T15:36:00.000-07:002014-08-24T15:36:11.590-07:00Family Visit, Fox's Bday Party, and Randoms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ryan's brother Nathan just had his graduation ceremony at BYU and Ryan's parents, his aunt Janeen, her friend Carol, Nathan, Lauren, and Dom came down to the Provo town for varying amounts of time as a result and we all got to hang out for a few days. It was pretty fun times. For the first time since we moved in, this house didn't feel slightly/way too huge. Now that everyone's gone it feels huge all over again. And a smidge lonely. Ah well.<br />
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Locke was sad that he couldn't go back with Pops and Grandma on their plane. Also, he developed his first ever crush. It was on Janeen's neighbor, Carol. He spent much of his time trying to get her to hang out with him and read to him and even whispered in my ear that I should tell her that he thinks she's really pretty. After they left, he asked me if he could marry her when he grows up. He was not happy to learn that she's already married to someone else.<br />
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We also had a birthday party for Fox (now that he's 2, I'm really feeling the pressure to use his actual name even though it's possible that he'll always be Biscuits in my heart at this point) while everyone was in town. I decorated a little Yo Gabba Gabba cake for him since he's been obsessed ever since finding Locke's old Yo Gabba Gabba shoes that have all the characters on them. He spends every moment that I'll allow wearing those things so it wasn't too surprising that he was pumped about the cake. Ryan's mom made everything look super fancy with party decorations, Ryan rented a big water slide and made ribs and Ryan's dad, my mom, and uncle Dewey made tasty side dishes. It was some good times. Here's the decor:<br />
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So the other day, Fox got a very serious, concerned look (pictured above) on his face while Ryan and I were getting him ready in the morning. He looked up at Ryan and said, "I luh you, dad," and quickly looked down, clearly feeling vulnerable from the disclosure. It was pretty adorable.<br />
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Locke suckered me into letting him wake up from nap time early by parading out in this ensemble that he put together himself. <br />
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Fox pretty much always sleeps snuggled up with his kitty. My favorite is when he uses her for a pillow.<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-40560537496035867442014-07-16T16:46:00.000-07:002014-07-16T16:46:04.349-07:00Biscuits is Two!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This happy boy turned two years old on Monday. He is such a fun-loving and laid back kid and has been ever since he was around 6 months old or so. He never did enjoy being a tiny baby but ever since learning to sit up, he has been super pumped about life. Good ol' Fun Time Biscuits.<br />
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We started the big day by going to Tracy Aviary where our friend Gerry gave him the dashing outfit that he's sporting in all these pictures. Then in the afternoon, he had a lollipop party in the backyard with Bears.<br />
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Then when Ryan got home we had a quiet party, just the four of us with the specifics hand picked by Biscuits himself. We plan on having a bigger party for him when Ryan's parents come to town as well.<br />
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Happy Birthday, Biscuits, we love you to bits!<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-14664380611622013722014-06-01T17:07:00.000-07:002014-06-01T17:07:09.491-07:00TimeTime is a tricky thing to process. Well, it is for me, anyway. Here's a video that logs a bit of my and Ryan's years together so far. It's crazy how quickly it seems that things change.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2ZPJyFuPSmI" width="560"></iframe>LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-50435162046049967482014-05-05T13:48:00.002-07:002014-05-05T13:50:46.085-07:00Lucy Loves Windows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With all these windows, there are only about 2 hours in any given day that there isn't any direct sunlight for Lucy to nap in. Those two hours are sad, sad times. She usually spends them pouting in my bedroom.LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-82169491433747924972014-05-04T16:14:00.000-07:002014-05-04T17:15:53.845-07:00Music**DISCLAIMER--this post is meant to be read with music. I refuse to accept responsibility for this post seeming really lame unless you at least try it out with the music. I'm looking at you, Ryan.**<br />
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So since this blog is about music and how it affects us, I'm including a piece of music that I really enjoy to augment the writing. Hopefully it's not too big of a pain to indulge me and push play before reading on. It will be worth it, I promise. I can't say for sure how the song will make you feel but I can say that you'll at least think it's pretty.<br />
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A lot of people really enjoy sharing music with others, myself included. I've come to realize lately that, with few exceptions, we're not trying to share the song so much as we're trying to share a feeling. But feeling the same thing as another person is tricky business, even with a tool like music to help guide you. Brain chemistry, personal experiences, and cultural attitudes all play integral roles in what we feel when we experience any form of art. Setting aside differences in brain chemistry that limit us all in varying ways as far as accessing the emotions that the musician is trying to tap into, we all value emotions uniquely.<br />
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Take love, for instance. In our culture, romantic love is revered and so when we hear a song that elicits that feeling, most of us appreciate that as a positive thing. But if someone raised in a culture that equivocates romantic love with being a flighty, horny-pants creeper, they might not appreciate it in the same way at all--even if the song manages to tap into their emotions the exact same way. I think that's fascinating. And it leads me to my point: I was listening to a song today and I felt something...great. I'm hoping that if I write the experience down that you'll be able to feel what I felt to some degree so that I'm not just sharing this song but the emotion that it helped me gain access to.<br />
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For me, the holy grail of emotion is a cocktail of intense love, longing, and--because of the ever-present knowledge of impermanence--mourning. But the knowledge that everything I love, myself included, will one day be lost makes these moments so exquisitely, painfully beautiful that the feeling becomes intoxicating--even addictive. A combination of music, exercise, and being outside in nature are the only surefire combination to tapping into that feeling.<br />
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I was out on a run today and the serendipitous timing of the song, the place on the road, and the seeds of emotion already within me allowed me once access to the feeling. Only this time it was taken even a step beyond what I'm normally able to experience. It was as if, just for a moment, time stopped being linear and I could see the entire thing--past, present, and future laid out in front of me like everything was all happening at once. I saw myself being taken care of as a helpless babe by my parents, just as I saw myself caring for my babies and then my parents when they're in the twilight of their lives. I saw myself at the point where I'll need round-the-clock care. And I hoped that when my turn comes to need that help that I will have been able to direct enough love outward into others (and be lucky enough) that caring for me is not a burden to them but a natural expression love. Because we all fall. The fact that our bodies will someday turn against us is, to me, such a powerful motivator to both enjoy everything that our bodies can currently do for ourselves as well as others. I don't know how much longer my body will be up to the task of facilitating my desires but it can now and that is so incredibly wonderful. The fact that I'm not able to feel constant gratitude for it is the only tragedy.<br />
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But. Music is a fantastic tool in feeling and glimpsing, if just for a moment, the important things. Can you feel it? And what is your favorite emotion to tap into?<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-7959818512104969782014-05-02T23:19:00.000-07:002014-05-02T23:23:09.724-07:00The New House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Helen pointed out that I have yet to post any pictures of our new place which I guess I need to remedy because it is the whole reason we moved to Provo, after all. :)<br />
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Outside<br />
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Front door<br />
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Kitchen<br />
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Living Room<br />
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Main Stairway<br />
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Stairway/living room<br />
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Sunrise from living room<br />
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Worth the 40 mile move, right? I feel like we had no choice; our hands were tied. Bonus--I'm really enjoying Provo so far. It's a total happy coincidence that we seem to actually like the area that our house happens to be located.LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-86862490294775705772014-04-29T21:28:00.001-07:002014-04-29T21:28:39.379-07:00Bears is 4!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Bears just celebrated his 4th birthday and my mom had the brilliant idea to make his birthday celebration a costume party. At Bears' request, the cake and other birthday treats were all spooky:<br />
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He invited all of his family and friends and I must say, it was some pretty grand times.<br />
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I was not there to see this but apparently, Biscuits and their cousin Dom were having a grand time with the trash can and both got pretty caught up in the delight of doing super naughty stuff like taking things out and then putting them back into the trash can. They couldn't believe their luck at being able to get away with such a thing.<br />
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Here is Bears in his full spooky glory. This costume was...much scarier in person than the packaging led me to believe. I kind of felt like an abusive parent after seeing what it really looked like but on the bright side, Bears sure was pumped about it. The spookier the better as far as he's concerned.<br />
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Bears has been pretty passionate about dressing up since he was two years old and his excitement over costumes just continues to get more and more intense. On any given day he'll dress up in at least a few different costumes and it's not unusual for him to spend the majority of his free time changing into various ensembles. He's also gotten really into organizing them all. It's really cute to see him carefully put his various outfits in the special shelves and cubbies that he's designated for them.<br />
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Here's the happy birthday video. Ryan pointed out that he had a cute delighted smile on his face the whole time and I'm so glad that my dad managed to get it on video because I was too distracted to notice it at the time. Would have been a shame to miss it.<br />
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His actual birthday was a couple of weeks after the party and we celebrated with just our little family. I asked him which he liked better--the big party with all his friends and family or the tiny party with just us and he said, "BOTH!" Very excitedly. Of course, it really isn't surprising since he did receive costumes on both days. Here's the video of just us singing happy birthday to Bears in his new pirate costume:<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-17572016634424933952014-04-24T15:23:00.000-07:002014-04-24T16:06:20.376-07:00Mr. RogersA few weeks ago, Bears walked up to me wearing a button-up shirt with slacks, a tie, and an inside-out pajama jacket and informed me that he was Mr. Rogers. He continues to spend the majority of his time dressing up and I've got to admit, this particular costume is the most endearing of them all to me. Instead of reading stories before his nap today, he wanted to show me how Mr Rogers changes from his fancy suit coat and fancy shoes into his casual sweater and slip-on shoes. After taking off his suit coat (a jacket I got back in high school), he carefully hung it up and put his fancy shoes directly underneath in the closet. The intensity of his concentration was matched by the pride he clearly felt in being able to do this all by himself. He then took his inside-out pajama top of the hanger and put it on in a fastidious way, making sure everything looked perfect, before slipping on his casual shoes. After examining the getup critically in the mirror and finding it acceptable, he decided that it was time to get back into the fancy stuff again. As he was buttoning up his "suit coat," he looked at me with worried eyes and asked if Mr Rogers could have more than one button on his coat and was very relieved when I told him yes.<br />
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Here he is, just about ready:<br />
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Annd panicking because he's just realized that it's all just a farce without a tie:<br />
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Much better. Bonus, this outfit seems to double for Harry Potter as well. I'm sure that'll come in handy when he's a bit older.<br />
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<br />LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-11215568526913103482014-04-20T14:47:00.003-07:002014-04-21T21:35:29.273-07:00Provo Tales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So we found a lovely glass house on a beautiful tree-filled 1/2 acre lot. Both Ryan and I loved it immediately which is a pretty big deal because in about five years of browsing houses together, that has never happened. So we didn't hesitate and purchased the sucker. Oh, and it's in Provo. We've heard stories of Provo being a...less-than-ideal place to live but figured that it was just hype. I have to say, though, in the two weeks that we've been here, I've had some very colorful experiences with the local folk. Take last night, for instance.<br />
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I'd just pulled into the driveway and walked through the front door when Ryan noticed that a small car had pulled up behind mine. "uhh...so somebody followed you?" he said. A moment later, there was a knock on the door, which Ryan answered. On our doorstep stood a wiry, fidgety guy in his mid twenties. "Hi, Mr. Jolley, is Will here?" he said.<br />
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Okay, so first off, Jolley is the last name of the people that used to live here. And they're both in their late 60's. And white. But maybe this guy really was a friend of the Jolleys and is just one of those people who don't see race. Or age. Or defining features, height or build. Like the ultimate example of a super progressive person back in the 90's.<br />
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"Oh, I'm not Mr Jolley." said Ryan and he went on to explain about how the Jolleys had moved out and asked if there was anything that we could do for him. The guy fixed both of us in a blank, glassy stare and asked if we were Mormons. We said that both of our families were LDS and very active but that we were not. "Ahh black sheep!" he said excitedly, "Me too! High five!!" Then followed the most awkward high fives in all of history. He attempted to also high five Bitties but Bitties just looked terrified, cried, "mama!" and clung to my pants. Then the guy caught sight of Lucy and decided to try and engage her but she stayed doggedly (har har) where she was, giving him that unnerving, googly-eyed look that she's so good at.
Since engaging the kid and dog wasn't working, he decided to tell us all about himself.<br />
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He'd just started going back to church after years of inactivity and showed off his "G's" through his shirt. I asked him if it felt good to get back into it. He grimaced and said, "I guess. I'm dating a girl and she wants to get married in the Temple, so..." He trailed off and looked at me for encouragement. I guess my expression wasn't very encouraging because he changed the subject. "So are you guys from here?" he asked. We told him that we were from Salt Lake but we really liked the house and figured that Provo wasn't too far away. "But..." he said, "it's...Provo. You really moved all the way out here just for a house? There are houses everywhere! Didn't anyone ever tell you that it sucks here? I hate Provo!" He then proceeded to tell us about his amazing home up on the east bench of Provo that had the best views ever. This was followed by silence on our end. Then more silence.<br />
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"So!" he said, "I'd just like to leave you fine people with one last thought. What's the most important thing in life?"<br />
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"Well it's houses, obviously." I joked. He looked at me sadly and said, "no...no. It's family. Look at your child!" He gestured emphatically at Biscuits, "THAT. That is the most important thing. And the VERY MOST important thing is for you to find your own personal god, or creator, or entity, or whatever that thing might be and to do WHATEVER it tells you to. There is nothing more important than that. It's the only thing that will give your life any purpose." He then bared his teeth at us menacingly, pointed to his mouth and said, "and always do this!" I'm wondering what in the world he could be getting at until he explains, "smile. It's scientifically proven that you can only be happy if you're smiling. Well, it was lovely to meet you! I'm Jameson. Good night!"*<br />
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Ryan closed the door and we just looked at each other for a moment, wondering what that exchange was. We agreed that he certainly did seem to have conviction and hoped that Jameson's own personal entity didn't have nefarious intentions towards us or we were in trouble.<br />
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Annnd that's basically Provo so far. A bunch of passionate people who exuberantly share their varied views--the only one that just about everyone seems to agree on is just how terrible Provo is. Someone should really start some sort of city pride campaign. Poor Provo is bound to get a complex with all this trash talking.<br />
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*After he read this, Ryan has informed me that while I included most of the conversation, I somehow didn't manage to convey how awkward and uncomfortable the whole experience was. I will just say that this conversation with Jameson lasted almost 15 minutes--and in that entire time, we never got a clue as to why he was there and what he wanted. So that right there should give at least some indication as to the strangeness.LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-67128479973440890622014-01-17T16:01:00.002-08:002014-01-17T16:07:31.034-08:00ExperimentsBears is super pumped about experiments--aka anything involving baking soda/vinegar or soda/mentos combinations. It must either explode or at least make a big fizzy mess in order to be a true experiment. Obviously. Biscuits even gets excited about it occasionally these days. <br />
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Also, Bears is pretty obsessed with this song called Royals by Lorde lately and insisted that it be used in the video.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4vZSvW_-NcA" width="640"></iframe>LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748532765640299447.post-21813546920494168232013-12-17T16:05:00.000-08:002013-12-17T16:05:46.331-08:00Santa! and Randoms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Man. My kids really love santa. I didn't even have to photoshop Biscuits into the photo at all because he wasn't on the verge of crying and clinging to me like a koala bear just because we were in vicinity of the big furry man. How fortuitous. Side note, I found out that nearly everyone puts their crying kid into santa's lap because sobbing children are hilarious and adorable. I tried to approximate what it might have looked like, for the sake of adorableness, but Biscuits is a terrible fake cry-er:<br />
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Still, not shabby for a 17-month-old. Bears is super into Christmas this year. He loves talking about Santa and discussing various Christmas stories. Despite my admitting that Santa is just part of a story that we tell based off of a really generous guy named St Nicholas that lived a long time ago, Bears remains doggedly convinced that Santa, himself, is real. Along with the treat fairy, potty fairy, nap fairy, witches, monsters, vampires, and (of course) zombies. I'm thinking of making things like Santa into an exercise in critical thinking and just drop hints over the next couple of years to help him discover the truth for himself. We'll see how it goes.<br />
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Earlier today, Bears stuffed a balloon in his shirt and said that he was going to have a baby. He then pulled the balloon out, plopped it on the floor and pronounced himself a mommy. He then began lamenting the fact that it didn't have yellow hair and began trying to tie another balloon to the top and with a little help from me, his baby soon had lustrous, yellow-balloon hair. But oh no. It didn't have a face. Bears asked me to draw a happy vampire face because he loves vampires.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU76ujVIRqtubUZbu7CB0VYPc6DQi-lJCu5Qth4xZ-E67tRnWIOfkLX9wbRi1EtVT3HKqtlfvhlUHTdtrywZI57ghyphenhyphenbQ0voJSxmYPD6cfVX4CFZuf04HpxJQv3TcIoeZI7lAwaUc4E5u_/s1600/BearsSmilesBabySmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZU76ujVIRqtubUZbu7CB0VYPc6DQi-lJCu5Qth4xZ-E67tRnWIOfkLX9wbRi1EtVT3HKqtlfvhlUHTdtrywZI57ghyphenhyphenbQ0voJSxmYPD6cfVX4CFZuf04HpxJQv3TcIoeZI7lAwaUc4E5u_/s640/BearsSmilesBabySmall.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then he realized that babies are sometimes sad. And are not really vampires. So I drew a "real baby" on the other side:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZo9N91ypdZrkaYfWftrJipzzjBcQIifobQ8mJJK5VxJdiRF_GxlK180aDhK-_9RJwWo1ZZJZG76jZ-3oG5ymK7J_iDhdik66mm_TTATCotJ9tI3S_aLaByR3I92Y94pf6GZyK76-Q38L/s1600/BearsSadBabySmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZo9N91ypdZrkaYfWftrJipzzjBcQIifobQ8mJJK5VxJdiRF_GxlK180aDhK-_9RJwWo1ZZJZG76jZ-3oG5ymK7J_iDhdik66mm_TTATCotJ9tI3S_aLaByR3I92Y94pf6GZyK76-Q38L/s640/BearsSadBabySmall.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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He actually spent a good five minutes rocking the balloon when it was sad until it turned into a happy vampire baby. This is probably the closest he's ever come to playing any caregiver-type game. He'll be a great daddy one day, I just know it. Full disclosure, after that five minutes of gentle play, he then spent at least ten minutes kicking and throwing the balloon around. But. In Bears' defense, that balloon/humpty dumpty baby is one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen.LJ Elkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01376628448489305144noreply@blogger.com3