A Word About Politics...

Jake and I have just started to pay attention to the presidential race. I don't like to invest too much energy into it until we are down to the two candidates. Quick story, I sat right behind John McCain at the 2001 World Series and during the 7th inning stretch I asked him to sign the back of my ticket. As he was signing I asked him if he would ever run for president. He said "Well I don't know Stephanie (we were tight), if I did would you vote for me?" I loved him as the senator from Arizona and of course said "Absolutely!" Let's just say that I am not as impressed with Mr. McCain seven years later. I don't think I will have to break my word though as I am pretty sure he isn't going to get the nomination.

Anywho, Jake and I have had quite a good time with this little gem of a website.. http://www.glassbooth.org/...it tells you which candidate your ideas about the country are most compatible with. I was more than a little surprised that Barack and I are nearly on the same page. I am a little sad that I will be in Orlando when he comes to visit this Saturday. Jake's pick? Some guy named Mike Gravel. The only thing I know about him is this very strange video on YouTube...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rZdAB4V_j8 Chances are he'll have to support a different candidate after the nominations.

On an entirely different note, Mason would rather feed himself than be fed. Disaster ensues.

What a Party!

Mason went to his first birthday party last night, his cousin Sydney turned two and invited us to her Little Mermaid themed bash. It was good times and her enthusiasm for her gifts was priceless. Mason was pretty good but once he's tired, he's done partying. Today he is having issues with teeth that just won't quite come through his gums. It's kind of sad, he'll be smiling and laughing and then suddenly jam his hand in his mouth and cry. Kind of like Jake when he's super hungry.

Here's some pics of him at the party and currently in his jumper...

Cell Phone, Where are you?

I have mentioned that life is a little more difficult without a DVR, right? Well, since we watch exactly one thing on TV all week (American Idol), it's not such a big deal anymore. Side note, did anyone watch that show Moment of Truth after Idol last night? They give people a lie detector test and all they have to do is tell the truth to get a half million dollars? Easy right? More like a super uncomfortable hour of television as they asked one guy if he was putting off having children because he felt his wife wasn't going to be his partner for life. His truthful answer was yes and his wife looked mortified. Yikes.

Anywho, I have lost my cell phone. I don't believe it is truly lost as I have never lost anything of such importance in my life. The problem is that it was dead when I lost/misplaced it so finding it is considerably more difficult than if I could just call it. Oh, and it didn't seem to make it out of the Boise airport. So I suppose it may actually be gone. Well, I can't remember having anything inconvenience my life more than losing my phone. I have realized that 90% of the time I am in the grocery store I call home to see if we have or need something. Or I'll think to pick up something for dinner but I can't call Jake to see what sounds good. How about if I am running late somewhere, I'll just call them and let them know. Except I can't. To make matters worse, I do not have insurance on the phone and it will cost $169 to replace it. Luckily I only have 21 months left on my contract and then I will be eligible for a new phone. I was in a quandry this evening about it so what did I do? I called my mom. She's hooking me up with her old phone and getting that package in the mail will be like Christmas morning. Oh how I miss you cell phone. Too bad I won't be able to call anyone because I don't have any numbers. At least I can call Jake. And my mom. Here's your Mason pic...

Viva Las Vegas

We made our annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas this past weekend with Dana and Ryan. We got to do some serious swimming and hot tubbing this year, which is always a treat when it's in the single digits back home. We also had an educational conversation wherein I explained the agricultural concept of dry farming to Ryan.

I did have some separation anxiety with Mason (I cried at the airport), but he had a delightful time with his second cousins. Incidentally, I have just learned that my cousin's children are my first cousins once removed.

Anywho, we had a good time but since we did not drink, gamble or go to a show we have decided that we don't actually have to go to Vegas every year. We've got our sites on New Mexico for next year.

One crazy thing that happened is that I ran into one of my very best friends in Boise at the airport in Las Vegas. We ended up talking the entire flight home. I was just telling Jake that of the 30 or so times I have flown in or out of Boise I have seen someone I know at the airport at least 25 of those times. This was my best sighting so far though.

Here's some pics of Dana and Ryan, me and Kari, and Mason enjoying his cousins.

Mason Monday

Mason did not wake up in time for Steph to see him this morning so I made this montage for her. I love you Kitty!

Budget Cuts

We decided to trim the budget a bit this year. The first to go? Cable television and our home phone. I thought losing tv was going to be rough, but we didn't even have the antenna functioning for the first week and we didn't notice. We should have done this a long time ago! When I called to cancel, the lady said "What if we give you $10 off a month?" I said no. "What if we give you $20 off a month?" I said no. "What can we do to keep you as a customer?" I said I could pay $10 a month total. She says to please hold. She returns. "I am so sorry we will be losing you as a customer." Yes, that's what I thought. If we ever get tv again I am going to try to cancel it after a year to get my bill down $20 a month. I am going to miss the DVR though as I noticed this morning I can not just pause the tv when Mason needs something. Anyway, Jake and I talk a lot more (and we talked a lot before) and it appears to be a good move all around.

Mason has taken a bit of a destructive turn this past week. He likes to knock things down and yesterday morning I found him sitting in his crib with several large pieces of wallpaper strewn about. He also found an outlet behind his crib that we didn't think we needed to bother with because it was blocked. Again, from his crib he reached it and tried to put the corner of his blankie in it. Needless to say, his crib is now in the middle of his bedroom as we don't trust the guy at all.

Here's a picture of him in his new necklace that Jake and I made him over Christmas. He obviously loves it.

We Challenge You Not to Smile!