Merry Merry!!

Happy Holidays from the Schneblys (and a Boyce)

Becca holding Binky, Grandma Helen, Karen holding P.J., Michael with Boyd on his shoulder, and Jared holding Buddy.

Some of you received this photo with my Christmas card and I wrote in the margin.."Can you see the bird?" My friend Jane wrote back and said that her husband had to point out the "real" bird as she was scrutinizing our fingers.... I thought that was hilarious and I apologize if anyone else misunderstood me.

Sacrifice and silliness

When I started graduate school in August, I was told that I would be sacrificing things over the next three years in order to juggle my new responsibilities. I've discovered that my blog is on the altar. Why not Farmville or Bejeweled Blitz, you ask? Because those games don't take mental energy. I don't have to think...I just get to milk virtual cows and make three pretty gemstones line up and explode. Blogging is different. Blogging uses brain cells. And using brain cells takes energy which I seem to be lacking. But here I sit in class, with a video of an example of Constructivist therapy playing on the screen in front of me...and I've decided to blog. Aren't you lucky? You must be living right!

First I want to share two funny quotes I've heard recently. One of them is from a T-shirt that I've ordered... it says, "And then Buffy staked Edward. The end." Hee Hee. Hilarious.

The other quote is "Blogging, Never before have so many had so much to say to so few." Too true.

Now I'm going to attach some pictures from the last three months. Have a great day!


Jared found this tame cockateil near a creek in town. She went right to him and has become a fun part of the family. Michael calls her Boyd. Jared calls her Polly Wolly and I call her the pooping master cage disaster.












This is my best attempt to be Martha Stewart and make a homemade cake for Jared's birthday. I know...I'm incredible. Hold the applause please.













This is my mother in law with curlers in her hair playing the Nintendo Wii. I thought it was great. And there sits
Michael on the couch. With a bun in the oven. When we were dating he said he wanted more children. I didn't know that he was going to have them himself. (Just kidding honey...you know I love ya!)








Here's Jared with his friend Dallas who is a Taylor Lautner look-a-like. He actually had some girls and ladies ask to take their picture with him at the New Moon premiere last night. So funny...and so odd...












This was the wedding party that followed my niece's wedding at the Bountiful Temple in October. I don't know this lady...but this just seems wrong to me. She's the photographer and apparently she had to stand in the fountain to get the best angle. I know I'm going to hell for wishing she would have biffed it...I was standing by with my camera to catch the whole thing...but alas...she had a stunning sense of balance. (and great calves.)












A shot of Jared and his excitement of having a little sister.
(I had the same look on my face when she showed up with her new do-it-yourself bangs trim.) (And where in the world, did they ever get the name bangs? Seriously, why?)





This is my cute niece Kailee and her new husband Dallin. AND A GIANT HAND! Wow...that is some seriously great photography skill, isn't it? (at least I know better than to stand in the temple fountains.)







Some fun birthday gifts from my friends. I love the T-shirt...and it speaks a very important truth. (And this is the new way I've decided to be photographed because it hides my multiple chins.)

Another swine flu fatality

Fall...my favorite time of year! Football and Foliage

Jared is #37. He's pulled that guy down for a big loss. It was awesome. Two plays later he recovered a fumble. What a stud!!


























These are some shots on the hike up to Stewart Falls in Provo Canyon. Don't we live in a beautiful world?

Is a llama your mama?

This is my sweet sister Katie feeding her baby to the llamas. Actually she's just introducing baby Zoe to her older siblings. I have no doubt that Zoe will be an animal lover like her mother. Check out my link to Katie's blog to read more.

My nephew Kyle

This is my handsome nephew Kyle. He leaves for his mission in just a few days. I'm willing to bet that he'll be able to convert a handful of young ladies just by smiling at them.


























He's just one of four cute kids.















And one of of six beautiful people!

My newest niece...Zoe Marie Zsembery

Her initials are ZMZ so I'm gonna call her Zoomz. It'll be perfect when she runs super speedy around the bases after hitting a home run.

She's looks so teeny. I love it!!

Some of my favorite pictures from the Alaska cruise

Mom's version

Make sure you watch the video below first. My mom is telling my brother Todd about our grand surprise. (He already knew about it...I can't be expected to keep a secret this good from everybody can I?)

Hee Hee...stalking my mother all the way to Alaska

This is for my friends and family who aren't on Facebook. It's a little snippet of Mom's reaction to me and Diane showing up at her cruise ship cabin. This was her first cruise and she was pretty anxious. Now, I cannot allow people to have the most fun ever without being there to also partake...so I invited myself on Mom's and Auntie Jo's cruise and didn't tell them until we all sailed away.

The difference between men and women

I love my son. He cracks me up. The past 6 months or so have been quite a wild ride, but I love him none the less. I've been neglecting my Blogging duties for a while now. I'd intended to write down an unforgettable interaction with Jared back in May.

We were sitting in the kitchen together working on a packet of homework that he needed to have done and turned in the next day. Like a lot of teenagers, he had procrastinated the homework and now was up late trying to get it done.

From the kitchen we overheard his step father on the phone in the bedroom. We heard him say, "he's one of the smartest kids I've ever known, he's incredibly bright!" Jared's eyes lit up and he turned to me and said, "Is Michael talking about me?" I nodded that he was. The gratification didn't last long because the next thing we heard from the bedroom was, "but he's really lazy. He's a big slug wasting time on the computer and video games and neglecting the things he supposed to be doing." Jared's smile instantly turned into a frown and his eyes darkened and filled up with tears. He turned to me and said, "I hate his guts!" I marched into the bedroom and Michael looked at me and indicated that he was on the phone. I angrily said, "I know...we can hear you in the kitchen and now you have a crying stepson who hates you!" Then back into the kitchen to do damage control. Due to circumstances beyond Jared's control he has some issues with fathers and father figures. I worry about him and want more than anything else for his deep wounds to heal. I encouraged him to think about the complement Michael had paid him and lovingly pointed out that he did have room for improving the way he spends his time but admitted Michael could have said that in a nicer way. Jared got really quiet and continued working on his homework. I had a lot of things going through my head. Did I need to schedule a therapy appointment for him? How could I mend this fragile relationship between my new husband and my son? Should we get family counseling? What is my role? I had a lot of thoughts bombarding me and wasn't sure what to do. It had been so obvious that Jared had been truly hurt by his stepfather's remarks. I looked at Jared again and he seemed to look normal.
I said, "Hey, are you OK?"
He seemed surprised. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
I said, "Aren't you upset at Michael?"
He replied, "No. Not anymore."
Stunned, I inquired, "You were really hurt, how did you let go of your feelings so quickly?"
He just looked at me and said, "Helloooooo....I'm not a woman."

It still makes me laugh.

Happy Father's Day Daddie-o

He came to my ball games faithfully
and loudly cheered "How to Go!!"
I'd roll my eyes, and jog by to correct him
"It's way to go! Dad, Way to go!"

He was raised by a man with a potty mouth
And Dad didn't like it one bit
In my whole life, I've never heard him cuss
I don't count " Great Gobs of Blue Geese!"
(what did you think I was going to say there?)

He taught me to love music, I love to sing with him
My favorite memories involve his guitar
Singing old country westerns, yodeling for us
We didn't have to search far for our star

As expressive as he was with his music
And as supportive as he was with my sports
The "I love you"s were a little too seldom
And the hugs were a little too short.

Mom counseled him to try a bit harder
So as he walked by he squeezed my big toe
And I knew all along that he loved me
And I thought "How to Go Dad. How to go!"

Don't let the bed bugs bite!

Check out this video about bedbugs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKCcSPCOQo



This is a nymph before it has "eaten".


This is the very same nymph after it had "eaten".


And here it is again, only you get an idea of it's real size.
























And this is what happened to me after I stayed up all night sitting on a couch that was infested with bedbugs.





I'd had a sofa cover over my couch, and had no idea what was lurking underneath until they tried to eat me alive!

I was able to get brand new couches out of the whole terrifyingly itchy experience. And I have a new appreciation for sleeping tight!

Pictures from Cailin's wedding!

Waiting for the happy couple to come out of the temple, Susan finds a way to keep the sun off baby Jacob's head.










Jared and his handsome cousin, Kyle. Eat your hearts out ladies, he's leaving for his mission to Brazil in September.












Here they come! Morgan and Caitlin Sheffer! With Grandma Dee giggling in the back ground.













The mother of the bride and the missionary. My beautiful sister-in-law Nancy Tyree.































It looks like a bunch of models in some fashion magazine, and then there's me in the background. Really, I am related to these gorgeous people!















The father of the bride and my big brother, Todd.















Pucker up!











Kyle and Devin looking sharp!













Glam girl Alli.



















Kyle and Jared sharing a tender and hilarious moment. These two boys are a laugh riot.

















Hey, you know what would be funny? Have Caitlin hold Jacob like it's her baby and have Todd strangle Morgan. Yup, that's funny! Too bad we didn't have a shotgun too.