A Peculiar People

Last night, I was entertained for quite awhile after stumbling upon this awesome website: www.stuffmormonslike.com It is a site completely dedicated to discussing the strange cultural trends of the Mormons. Don't worry, it's written by fellow Mormons, and isn't offensive at all, just hilarious. After reading through it, shaking my head in agreement after each thing I could relate with, I had a new appreciation for the term "peculiar people." I've been thinking about it all day, and have come up with quite a list of my own "stuff Mormons like." I'll just share five.

1. Busy wedding announcements with cheesy poses. Six years ago, when designing my own wedding announcements, I made sure I included 4 photos, and thought I was doing pretty well. However, in the past year, I've seen several wedding announcements that put my measley 4 photos to shame. I've even seen them two-sided in order to fit every single cheesy pose. Fun, huh?

2. Napoleon Dynamite. I was told to go see this movie when it came out by a group of single LDS students. When I got to the theater, it was packed with, of course, more LDS people. Now even if you didn't know that the producers went to BYU, the lead actor is LDS, and it was filmed in Preston, ID, it wouldn't take long for an LDS person to feel a sense of familiarity with this film. It is packed with Mormon culture: Ricks t-shirt, tupperware sales, online dating, finding treasures at DI, uncomfortable dances, and of course no swearing.

3. Historical Fiction that everyone loves, but can't quite sort out the history and the fiction. When I visited Nauvoo a few years ago, the missionaries there told us that they often are asked where "Steed Row" is. And every time I drive through Sugar House, UT, I wonder where the Thomases might have lived.

4. Ultimate Frisbee. It you don't know about this one, maybe you've never been in a singles ward. This is a favorite among LDS young adults. If somebody dropped the ball and didn't get the activity planned, the elders' quorum president is bound to have a frisbee in his backpack, and before long, everybody is having a blast showing off their incredible "ultimate" skills.

5. Desserts disguised as salads. Now we pride ourselves in being the healthiest people on the planet, since we have the Word of Wisdom to help guide our health choices. However, the last time I attended a Mormon gathering, the choice of "salads" was rather interesting. Next to the regulars--potato salad and that cabbage salad with the uncooked ramen noodles in it--there were three other choices: Red jello with cool whip on the top, some sort of whipped jello that had cool whip, cream cheese, cottage cheese, or perhaps all three in it, and the new craze, "Cookie Salad." Now that sounds like an oxy-moron to me, but I've seen it now at several gatherings, and it's NOT on the dessert table. Maybe it's for all the moms who want to say, "Oh yes, my child loves to eat his salad." Who wouldn't?

We are peculiar, aren't we? If you have any other "stuff Mormons like" please comment. I'd love to hear some more on this topic.

Kittens! Kittens! Kittens!

A little over 5 weeks ago, our cat Molly had kittens. I had known for awhile they were coming, and was not excited at all. I had planned to have her spayed, but I didn't expect her to be pregnant already at 5 months old! But what do I know about cats? Anyway, I have to admit that the kittens are cute and the kids absolutely LOVE them! Since the kittens were born, I have only let Molly out of the house a handful of times, and only for a short time, so I hope she's not pregnant, but I wouldn't be surprised, based on her promiscuous past. Anyway, all the kittens are female as well, so I need to get rid of them or the cat population may take over the ranch before we know it!

Summer Vacation?

Tony and I just spent four days with my dad in Des Moines, Iowa, at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Some have questioned this choice for our summer vacation, but we absolutely loved it! We started out last Monday afternoon, and went as far as Cheyenne, where Tony's brother lives. We enjoyed visiting with them and seeing their new baby, and the kids absolutely LOVED playing with their cousins there. Tuesday we went across the next state, Nebraska, and stopped at Tony's sister's house in Omaha. We stayed with them for the night, and also were able to visit my cousin and her husband who live almost next door! The next morning, we went to the Council Bluffs Temple and Visitors' Center. We didn't have a whole lot of time to spend there, but it was really neat. We toured the center and learned more about the Mormon Pioneers and their struggles in going west. Connor and Mylie got to try packing a wagon (mini-sized) and try on pioneer clothing. They make such cute pioneer children!

After touring the visitors' center, we went up the hill to the cemetery. About 40% of the pioneers buried there were age 3 or younger. The statue we are standing in front of shows a couple burying their baby, knowing that they will move on and most likely never return there. It was heartbreaking to think about what they went through.

After seeing the sights there, Tony, my dad, and I headed east, and Haley (Tony's sister) took the kids with her back home. She was kind enough to watch them for four days, and they had a BLAST there! I'm not sure they even wanted to come home after playing at the park, going to the zoo, visiting the botanical gardens and children's museum, and watching a fireworks show. And the best part of all was eating at Chuck E. Cheese's. While they were having a ball, so were we in a different sort of way. I've always been a track fan, and my dad has been going to this meet for about 6 years now. Tony is a track coach, as is my dad, so the three of us just had a great time marveling at the incredible athletes at this meet. Not trying to bore any of you non-track fans, but here are a couple of the highlights for me:

1. Jenny Barringer from Colorado ran the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 9:29, which was a new collegiate record and the fastest time EVER run on U.S. soil by any female athlete from any country! It was amazing to witness. This is her during the first lap. They're already chasing here, and that's all they could do. She beat the second place finisher by nearly 30 seconds.

2. Jacquelyn Johnson from Arizona State won the women's heptathlon for the fourth straight year. She also won it 3 times indoor. Impressive.

3. The high jump winner for the men jumped 7'7". Can you imagine?

4. The woman that won triple jump jumped 47'11". I remember being absolutely amazed when I saw a high school boy get 46' once. This GIRL outjumped him by nearly 2 feet!

5. The winner in the women's 1500 ran it in 4:05. It didn't know this was physically possible.

6. I'd never watched the decathlon or heptathlon before, and we had fun following that. Also, I'd never watched the hammer throw before. It was fascinating.

I could go on and on with all the incredible performances during the four days there. If you're interested and would like to look up the results for your favorite event, you can find them at www.ncaa.com/track-and-field-outdoor/article.aspx?id=255014

Just look through each day to find what you want. If you've ever done any track and field event, you'll be blown away by what these athletes can do.

Crazy Kids!

Why is it that when you tell a kid to smile, you get what you see below? You just want that cute face that you see hundreds of times each day, but this is what you get. Oh well, they're still cute.

I apologize about the quality of these pictures, but I just don't have time for photo editing tonight!

Instant Lawn!!!

I've thought ever since we moved into our house that sod would probably be the way to go when we were ready to do our lawn. Now I'm convinced of it! We had a huge crew show up Saturday morning to help us, and we laid over 3500 sq. ft. of sod in about an hour and a half. Thanks to all you friends and family members that helped! Also, a big thanks to Tony for all his work in getting the ground ready. It was a tough job and he spent hours getting it just right. We have grass! Yeah!!

This is what the ground looked like before any preparation--it's what the ground STILL looks like everywhere except in the front yard.

Here's the working man raking it smooth for about the millionth time! I love you, Tony!

After spreading manure, tilling, leveling, raking, getting the rocks out, rolling, and smoothing again and again, here's our dirt--all ready for the sod.

The sod has arrived!

Here's part of the crew laying the first few pieces. Exciting!

Here are a couple pictures of the finished product! Doesn't it look great? Instant lawn!!

Ten Reasons I LOVE Living on a Ranch

Yeah, you read the title right. For all you old friends whose jaws are sitting on their keyboard right now, go ahead and pick them up. Read on. I've just really been thinking lately of how good we have it here on the Micheli Ranch. So I've come up with ten reasons (not in any particular order) why I LOVE living on a ranch.

10. Our View! This is what I get to look at every day out our front window: the "Big Field," the hills on the other side, and then the beautiful Uinta Mountains! I love it!

9. Equipment. I don't know how we'd have done half the things we've done on our house without this backhoe and a number of other pieces of equipment that are parked around the ranch ready for us to use whenever we may need to. Of course, I don't know how to operate any of them, but Tony does a great job!

8. No neighbors. I suppose in some ways this isn't such a great thing. However, I've had several moments where I've been VERY glad this is the case. For example, when Connor was close to three years old, he would lose it and have terrible crying fits when he got tired. He couldn't fall asleep, obviously, until he was under control. Mylie was a baby at the time, and a very light sleeper. So, we'd set Connor on the front porch and tell him he could come back in the house when he was finished crying. I'm sure I'd be in jail or something for that if we had neighbors! Also, I have the luxury of being able to streak across the living room to get the phone or whatever I may need at the moment without the fear of the neighbors seeing me through the window. But maybe this isn't just for those with no neighbors. I seem to remember my mother doing this a few times when I was growing up, and we HAD neighbors.

7. Teaching my kids how to work. Now I know that this can be done in many ways. My parents found a way to teach us how to work with no ranch. But for a kid like Connor, who cannot stand doing indoor chores, but will do them so that he CAN do some outdoor chores, having some outdoor jobs to do is really nice. Just day before yesterday, Connor got a new job. He's taking care of a calf that needs to be bottle fed twice a day. He's very excited, and I'm excited for him to have this opportunity to learn some responsibility.

6. Gas. Tony works all summer and a lot of evenings and weekends throughout the year for a small check at the end of each summer, plus an awesome bonus: access to the ranch's gas pump. Now I know that they could pay us the money for all that work, and we could just go and buy gas at the pump like most people, but it's nice to not have the dollar amount staring you in the face every time you fill up.

5. Meat. Another perk of Tony's work on the ranch. Now, this isn't just any old meat. This is the meat of pampered cattle, which means they're raised on grain, not just whatever grass is in the field. I first understood what this meant at our wedding reception. Tony's family had some roast beef at our dinner, and then his mom packed some up for us to take on our honeymoon. I couldn't stop eating it all week! I'd never had anything so good. I knew I'd married into the right family.

4. Sex education. Now I hope this isn't inappropriate to post on my blog, but all you former ranch kids will probably agree that a ranch life gives kids a no-nonsense sex education. After seeing a few calves be born, Connor just knows how babies come out. It's not gross, and it doesn't make him giggle. It's just the way it works. Also, a few weeks ago, Connor said to me, "Mom, you know those things on your belly where Mylie used to drink milk? Well, that's just like a cow!" Yes, I suppose I am.

3. BIG LOT! Yes, we have a HUGE lot. I love that I'm not limited by the neighbor's fence. The possibilities for our yard's landscaping are endless. We're just doing a little at a time, of course, but I get excited just thinking about how it will all be when we're finished!

2. Room to Roam. I love that the kids have so many places to explore outside. We have the dump, where Connor loves to take a sack lunch, go in the old dump truck and eat while he pretends to drive to some far-off place like Lagoon or Casper. The kids' favorite (and it was their dad's when he was young) is probably the "Elephant Hill." This is a hill that is just out our back door practically. It was named for the slope on one end, which looks like the trunk of an elephant, wrinkles and all. This morning, I got some pictures of the kids climbing it and digging for something--could be fossils, arrowheads, Indian graves, you name it!

1. A Happy Husband. How can you put a price on that? Tony loves being outside and working on the ranch. Although I'm glad he teaches school as well, I'm glad he gets to do what he loves so much on the ranch. When he's happy, I'm happy!

Our Tiebreaker is on the Way!

In our family, we have two girls and two boys, but the tiebreaker is on the way! He or She is expected to arrive in 6 months from today, on Nov. 13th. We're very excited! I've felt great so far, and at my doctor's appointment this morning, everything looked good. Connor wants a boy, and Mylie says it IS a girl. I don't have any preference. My only hope if that it doesn't come early, since state volleyball goes through Nov.1st.