Tag Archives: cousins

Holiday, oh Holiday

by on January 4, 2011 in james, me, ten things, things i love

(Mel, can you hear that song in your head?)

Our holidays were wonderful! How were yours?

We began the holidays by taking a quick trip to California to visit my brother. James and I made the trip with my parents and wee sis.

James was a trooper for his first looong drive

He only had one freak out. We left a few days before Christmas, stayed a day, and came back. Remember the big rain storms in southern CA and southern UT? Yeah, we drove through those.

Before we left, we took out one of the captains chairs in my parents mini-van so there was only one and the back bench, giving James a little bit of crawling room when we were stopped. It was a wonderful idea. Because of the rain and the cold, I didn’t brave the weather to take him into gross gas stations, so he just chilled in the car, crawling around while we took turns going inside. Thanks to Grandma, he even got chances to sit up front and play with buttons.

"Driving" the car was his favorite part of the trip.

(Don’t worry, the car was in park and the emergency break was on while he “drove.”) Notice the band-aid on his hand… two days before we left he pulled my straighten off the bathroom counter onto his hand. Luckily, it was in the process of cooling down, so the burn wasn’t as bad as it could have been (and it was a straightener and not a curling iron so it wasn’t as big of a burn). He also ran head first into the bed frame giving him the lovely line on his forehead that you can see in the top picture.

Begin side note:

This kid is into EVERYTHING and never sits still. He can open drawers, cupboards and his favorite thing in the world to play with are doors, swinging them back and forth. If he does ever push them all the way closed, he cries, because he toy doesn’t work any more. He tries to “walk” between his two standing toys, falling on his face. He attempted the stairs and tries to scale our entertainment center. Yesterday, I took something in the bedroom and came back and couldn’t find him anywhere… He’d made his way into the half bathroom and discovered the toilet paper. joy.

He's a little booger...

Needless to say, baby-proofing is in FULL SWING at our house. He finds things I never would have imagined.

End side note.

Back to our trip. We stayed with my brother, Rob and his beautiful wife, Ali. James is now afraid of Rob (I might be too if I met him in a dark alley). Due to the rain, and their flight to Australia we didn’t stay long and were back on the road in the torrential rain.

On the way home, we brought my brother’s three dogs. James LOVED them. They HATED James.

This was the closest they got to him

The car ride back was a little crowded with 4 adults, a baby and three dogs. Yes, they are small dogs, but they still got in the way. We even had a little diaper changing incident the ended with unpleasant stuff on Rachel’s pillow because the dogs were taking up all the floor space I needed to change a diaper.

On Christmas Eve, we joined my mom’s family for the traditional Food and Nativity night. The food was fabulous. The company was wonderful and James found something new to scale.

He might be Evel Knievell reincarnated. He has no sense of fear.

My grandma was able to join us (she’s been staying in the rest home while her broken leg heals, she’s almost ready to go home! Yay!), and read the nativity from the Bible. James got to be Baby Jesus this year and he even sat still longer than I thought he would.

The grandkids acting out the nativity

On the left, Rachel and Bree are the shepherds. Next, standing in the red is Emily as an angel and Abby as the star. Below the star we have Mary and Joseph, as portrayed by Andrew and Leah with Mary holding Baby Jesus. Above Mary and the baby are our wise men, Jared and Jessie. I think the 3rd wise man (Alyssa) decided to stay with her mom instead.

My grandma reading the story of Christ’s birth is one of my favorite memories of Christmas each year.

On Christmas morning, we woke up earlier than we wanted, our sweet baby decided to sleep from 9 until 12, then stay awake until 2:30, so 8 a.m. was EARLY. But it was worth it because we got to talk to JOSEPH, AKA Elder McCracken, in Peru.

Listening to Uncle Joe

(I realized that I didn’t get a picture of all of us listening, but you can see my dad in the background with the phone. We listened on speaker, while he held the phone close to a recorder.)

It was great to talk to him. He loves it there and is enjoying the people and the work. He described it as the happiest and saddest time of his life. The happiest because of how much his testimony is growing and the saddest because he sees the people and knows how much the Gospel could help them, but they aren’t willing to listen.

(I also realized that I didn’t take any pictures of the present opening. James loved it… mostly the wrapping paper.)

so excited

He was pretty stoked about getting his hands on his dad’s mini oreos. Santa didn’t bring him a lot of candy, just some fun things to chew on and one candy cane. He was in heaven.

The next day we got together for the Phelps’ Family party. The kids all got together and bought Bryan’s parents a new TV so it was pretty exciting to bring it in. It is a super thin LED, only 1.25 inches. It’s crazy the things they do with TVs now.

James got to play with his favorite cousins too.

"Friends, forever...Talkin' 'bout Friends"

(name that song…)

The next week was really relaxed. It was wonderful. Bryan was able to stay and hang out with us all week, so that was lovely. We played games with my family, we made a gingerbread train, pillow piles and we watched lots of movies.

Pillow Pile

New Year’s eve was pretty low key too. We stayed home, tried to get James back on a normal sleeping schedule, watched movies and went to bed.

It was a lovely end to a lovely year.

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Wolfman’s Cabin

by on December 9, 2010 in me, think back

please note: The events below are a true story, although some facts may have been distorted in the seven years it has been since this happened. In my mind I feel like a lot of the story has been exaggerated by my own thoughts and imagination, however, talking with Ashley, I find that she remembers much of the events the same and it might not be as exaggerated as I think.

The Fall of 2003 was a wonderful time. I was a freshman at BYU-Idaho. I was living with some wonderful roommates and we had so much fun together. Both of my favorite cousins were at BYU-I with me and the three of us spent time together enjoying the local sights and sounds.

At the time, my cousin Eleena was dating a boy named Luke and we would hang out with him and his roommates. They lived in a house that had been converted into a few different apartments and there were always so many different boys there. I never was actually sure who lived there and who was just visiting.

One weekend evening, Eleena called Ashley and I to come and hang out with her, Luke, Brent and DJ. We all gathered at Eleena’s apartment and waited for the boys to arrive. They wouldn’t tell us where we were going or what we were doing and the night grew later and later.

Finally around 11:30 the boys arrived and we set off. Based on previous experiences with these young men, I knew it was going to be an adventure and I was right.

We all piled into Brent’s SUV. Brent and a girl none of us knew sat in the front seat. Ashley, DJ and I sat in the middle row and Eleena and Luke climbed into the back.

Shortly after we began our drive, Brent pulled off the road to an empty field. They walked us out to the middle of the field and as we stood in the moonlight, recounted the tale of Wolfman’s Cabin.

Wolfman wasn’t always a wolfman. He was married and had a son. His wife tragically died, sending wolfman into a life of seclusion. He and his son moved to a cabin in the mountains surrounding Rexburg. Living in the woods he began to befriend the wolves. He keeps them in a corral near his home and feeds them so they continue coming back. Very few ever see him or his son. As his son grows older he makes friends with some other young men in the area. They began drinking and partying. Soon their partying led to even more dangerous activities and girls began to come up missing from, then, Ricks College.

Many believed it was the Wolfman’s son and his friends. The police searched the cabin and found enough evidence to arrest the boys but they had disappeared. The police believe the boys took the girls from Ricks College and locked them in the grain silo on the property, and later fed the remains to the wolves.

The Wolfman wasn’t arrested and didn’t believe to be connected with the kidnapping and murder of the girls from Ricks. He later died and some have suggested that the boys frequently come back to the cabin to party. More girls have even turned up missing since, but police haven’t ever been able to find them.

We were going to Wolfman’s cabin.  I looked from Eleena to Ashley and back to Eleena again. As we exchanged worried looks, I knew were were all thinking the same thing: What had we gotten ourselves into?

As we continued the drive up to the cabin, we chatted about cell phones and Brent asked which of us had cell phones with us. A little while later, we arrived and parked down a small hill from the cabin and silo. It was pitch black, the moon was full but we were pretty far into the trees and the light from the moon cast shadows over the cabin, making it hard to see exactly what it looked like or how big it was. We were hesitant to get out of the car, but the boys assured us that they had visited before and there was nothing to worry about.

We began the walk up the small hill to the cabin. As we walked Brent pointed out an old fence he said used to hold the wolves. Once at the cabin we headed inside, armed with only two flashlights. I stayed close to Brent as he had one of the lights. The rooms of the cabin were small and torn apart. The floors were littered with garbage and the walls were peppered with graffiti.

As we headed back out of the cabin, we head a gun shot in the distance. I was done, it was time to leave. Grabbing Eleena’s arm and insisting to Brent that we leave, we started to run out of the cabin. The boys stopped our run and assured us that we still didn’t have anything to worry about. People hunted all the time up this mountain and we were fine. Plus they added, the sound didn’t even sound close to us and they still wanted to see inside the silo. Since they had the keys, we didn’t have much of a choice and headed after them to the silo.

At this point, I was pretty worried and wanted to go home. I didn’t dare go inside the silo and tried to keep the car in my sight, wanting to still stay close to Brent and the flashlight. Because of the small hill, I wasn’t able to see the car anymore and glanced inside the silo just long enough to see a noose hanging from the rafters.

Then, another gunshot. Closer this time. Followed by a scream that pierced the night silence.

Grabbing hands, Ashley, Eleena and I ran back to the car, closely followed by Brent, DJ, Luke and the other girl (I don’t remember he name. I’m sure we knew it that night).

We got back to the car and piled in as quickly as our legs would allow. With the keys in the engine, Brent turned and the car chugged and chugged, but wouldn’t start. He turned the keys again. Chug, chug, chug. Nothing. Chug, chug, chug. Nothing. I looked out the windows and saw shadows moving around the car. In disbelief of what I was seeing, I turned again to Brent. Chug, chug, chug. Nothing. I looked out the window again and as if made of shadows shapes of people began to appear and move toward our car.

Chug, chug, chug. Nothing.

Next to me in the seat, Ashley had slumped down covering herself with her jacked and I heard he swear. Behind us Eleena was screaming. I pulled the hood of my jacked over my head and crowded down as low as I could in the seat and held the lock button down on the door I was sitting next to. One of the boys were yelling to Brent to get the doors locked and get the car started.

As the figures came to our car they began pulling on the handles. In an attempt to lock the doors Brent hit the unlock button. I slammed my lock back down before the dark figures could get my door open, but one pulled open the driver’s side door and began yelling at us to get out of the car. Then asked us for our money, cell phones and any belonging we may have. I lied and told them I didn’t have a cell phone, holding my hand firmly on the lock button of the car.

The hooded figure pulled Brent out of the car and suddenly as the shadows appeared they were gone along with any sign of Brent. We knew we had to get out of there but didn’t want to leave Brent. DJ insisted that we go out and look for him. And unlocked his door. He climbed out of the car and Luke followed.

There was no way I was staying in the car if the two boys we getting out (yes, I am that kind of girl who believes boys will keep her safe).

I ran to catch up with DJ and Luke. We walked along the road until DJ saw something on the side of the road, it was Brent!

He was crumpled up in a small ditch just off the road he wasn’t moving and I could see bruises on his face. As Luke tried to get Brent to wake up, I looked around to see if there was a main road close that we could get to and try to get home. Suddenly, over a hill, headlights appeared followed by a gunshot. We ran back to the car. I jumped into the seat next to Ashley and held the lock again as tight as I could.

DJ jumped in the door on the other side and Luke jumped in the driver’s seat and turned the keys.

Chug, chug, chug. Nothing.

He locked the doors just in time for the truck to park right behind our car and the shadowy figures pilled out of the back and came to our car again.

Our car was filled with screaming and I noticed that they weren’t trying to get the car doors open, they were just banging on the doors and shaking the car. I looked up to the figure just outside my window and noticed he was wearing a white cowboy hat and laughing.

(I don’t know what went through my head in the split second between seeing him laugh and what I did next, but I might have been insane.)

I unlocked my door and pushed it as hard as I could into the stomach of the boy wearing the white cowboy hat. He backed away and I charged after him. I balled up my fingers and swung as hard as I could and felt my fist graze his cheek.

He continued to laugh and I noticed that all around me the people attacking our car stopped and were watching me and laughing. Then I saw Brent and he was laughing!

“You should have seen your face, Katie! I can’t believe you just punched him,” he laughed as he walked toward me.

Suddenly, I knew this had all been a prank, a joke meant to scare us. All of the shadowy figures were some of the other boys that lived in the house with them and their friends. Brent unfolded their master plan, telling us it was Brandon who screamed in the woods, the bruising on his face was just a little makeup, and while we were at the silo, the others had unplugged the starter of the car. They did have guns with them, but they didn’t have any bullets and had fired a few blanks into the night. He also explained that the conversation about the cell phones on the way up was to make sure they had all the phones from us, so we couldn’t call 911 during their prank.

I stared unbelievably as Brent continued his tale, laughing at our reactions. For the second time that night, I balled up my fist and swung with all my might, hitting Brent squarely in the face.

Luke and DJ came up to me to congratulate me on my awesome punch, and I asked if they were in on this prank. They said no and backed away (Luke later told me he was in on it the whole time, but lied when I asked because he didn’t want to get punched).

As I calmed down, I was able to laugh about the whole situation and apologized to the boy in the cowboy hat and Brent from my outbreaks of violence. Brent told me he hoped that I gave him a black eye. He said that would make the whole story even better.

And really, the whole evening became a wonderful story of the first (and last) time that I have ever punched someone. And now I know in a moment of panic, I will go into fight (if there’s no way to flight).

congratulations on making it to the end.
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A Whole New World

by on September 2, 2010 in me, things i love, think back

I recently started to babysit my friends’ little girl, Leyla, during the day. Its kind of great because it gives me an opportunity to watch all my favorite Disney Movies that I haven’t seen for so many years.

Watching these fun movies brings me back and reminds me of wonderful times in my life growing up and having fun with my cousins and sisters.

The other day, we watched Aladdin.

As Aladdin and Jasmin began their magic carpet ride I thought back to the dance we made up to the song, “A Whole New World.” We pulled the stools out of the kitchen and placed a rug across it. I was Aladdin and my cousin Eleena was Jasmin. Melanie and Heather put on their matching green swimming suits and danced around the magic carpet while Eleena and I sang along with the CD.

We had so much fun.

We also had dances to songs from Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid and so many others.

Cousins!

Eleena, Katie, Ashley

More Cousins

Heather, Eleena, Melanie, Katie, Ashley, Rachel, Brittany

Some of my favorite memories of my childhood are with my cousins. I was lucky enough to grow up with so many cousins, and so many so close to my age. We were able to spend so much of our summers together and so many holidays. For family reunions we would make up plays and cast all the younger children in our productions. We would have scripts, costumes and often musical numbers.

One year, the play was a pioneer theme. Eleena did a great job with the script. It was a highlight of the family reunion.

We also made up songs about each other. The year Melanie got a perm and we made up “Mophead McCracken” was a classic. It was to the tune of “Cruella DeVil.”

Until I was in jr. high, I can’t remember a New Year’s Eve that doesn’t include my cousins. One year we spent almost the whole night playing one of the versions of Donkey Kong on the Super Nintendo (the level in the mine car). Another year, (the year of the flu) we watched the scene in Toy Story where the shark jumped out of the toy box wearing Woody’s hat and said, “I’m Woody! Howdy, Howdy, Howdy!” over and over again. We were all sick with the flu, we were a little bit crazy that year.

Even during college we had wonderful times together. My freshman year, Eleena, Ashley and I were all at BYU-I. We went up the the broken Teton Dam and visited and old house in the woods, Wolfman’s Cabin. It was there, that I first punched a person in the face. Great story; I’ll save it for another post.

We’ve laughed together, cried together and even laughed until we cried (like the night we tried to explain to Melanie and Heather about how Brandon thought Grandma died by choking on a chicken bone…). And although as we have gotten older and and don’t see each other as often my cousins will always be some of my best friends and my favorite people in the world. They have been there for me when things have been bad and I hope they know that if they ever need someone I will ALWAYS be there for them if they need me.

Love you girls!

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