I am a cutie pie!!

Could Seth be any cuter...the answer is NO! But Seth and I could both work the on the grumpies a bit ;)

Happy walking, walking, happy walk....

It's nice to be able to walk...still painful but pain can be endured, not being able to walk cannot. Hyrum has a hydrocele that he has to have surgery on this Friday. It is an outpatient surgery and there isn't much risk besides the normal surgery risk but it still makes me a little anxious. He is happy though because he gets to miss school and they aren't going to stick anything into him till after he has his general anesthesia. John also has to turn in his final dissertation this Friday but he is having some problems getting all the signatures from professors that he needs because they aren't in so this also makes me anxious...oh and also the house selling and moving, etc. The weather has been sooo nice lately though it is hard to imagine anything in the world is amiss...especially when someone just cuts their grass....

Hmmm....

Why so many posts today you ask? I have to sit with my leg up.....
This morning I was cleaning up as fast as possible because John and the 3 older boys were at a camp out. Seth and I were trying to be productive. As I was taking something down the stairs, Seth was coming up so I stepped to try and avoid him. The good news is I didn't step on Seth, the bad news is I fell the rest of the way down the stairs (not that far) and really, really hurt my ankle. This is my weak ankle. Previous sports and falling off a cliff injury. Actually, the last time I really hurt it was when I fell off that cliff (only about 15-20 feet, so not that far). I am guessing just based on many past experiences that I probably won't be able to walk on it for 3-4 days and will probably need a brace for 2-3 weeks. So, it isn't really that big of a deal but it is a really, really inconvenient time. Not that a is ever a convenient time for a sprained ankle...Anyhow, Hyrum has his surgery this week and I need to keep packing and cleaning, etc. Plus I had some laser work done on my nose to fix a vein on Friday so I can't take any medicine related to aspirin which would help with the swelling but ruin the vein on my nose. Maybe Hy and I can just lay around for a week or two. Life isn't all bad....there is a cool front coming tomorrow so I can open windows again!!

Attn: Linux and Firefox users...

Did you know the new version of Linux (and Firefox) is out!! That's right people. It is here and John has already "ruined" his computer by trying to install it. He is troubleshooting as I type. This computer is next so if you don't see any new posts for awhile you will know it is because the computer is down so that it can "be better." Also, one thing that really annoys me about firefox is when you click on the addresses it doesn't highlight the whole address the first time like explorer. It took me awhile and then I figured out that you can to double click the address and it will highlight the whole thing. It is good I figured this out because I really hated firefox for a bit but I am okay now. Maybe it will be fixed with the new version.

Doctor John in the house...

John passed his dissertation defense. Yes, it is true. He finally graduated!! He said it took over 30 seconds but less than a minute for them to decide and he has no major corrections to his dissertation so he is very happy. He was a little sad when after 6+ years in the lab they still offered him the champagne first instead of the sparkling cider. I guess he felt like he didn't quite convert everyone in the lab ;) I am sure they were just being polite but it is a little funny. Now we are off to Boulder, CO where John will do his postdoctoral work. He has already accepted a position at BYU so after his postdoc we will be moving to Utah. John and I started college at BYU in 1994 and in 2010 we will have come full circle and John will finally be done with school (I finished a little early but I'm only a BS, not a doctor). What can I say...although completely unplanned we are just destined to be COUGARS. If you haven't noticed the blog is all from the BYU fight song. Anyway, even though we don't want to leave Austin, I am really looking forward to football season! We are happy and excited. John just mostly feels relief though and now he is finally allowed to play Battle for Westnoth again!

I've got a hangingover...

A "hangingover" is my version of a hangover. Since I've never had a real hangover I don't know for sure what they are like but my hangingovers sound the same. I feel really tired and dizzy and sick to my stomach and have a bad headache and I can't think straight and I don't sleep really well and can't bring myself to do anything productive and I don't like it loud during my hangingovers. Unlike a hangover, my hangingovers are induced by too much "hanging over" my head. But don't worry...I'm alright. At this moment probably half of you have your own hangingovers too. I am just glad I came up with something clever to call them during my current hangingover ;)

Blogs, Blogs and more Blogs (Love them)!!

I am not a huge fan of sending email updates. I don't know, for some reason I could never bring myself to do it. But, I am a huge fan of keeping up with what everyone is doing. I love blogs...who would have thought!! They are just so easy and you can view them at your leisure and you get to see weekly or monthly glimpses into all the wonder and craziness life brings everywhere in just 2-3 minutes. They give you connections you never knew you had. For example, my cousin-in-law Lindsey. She and my cousin Blake got married after I moved away. I had met her a few times and I see her at big family things or Sunday dinners when we are in Utah but I didn't know her really well. However, I really, really enjoy her blog. I read it all the time because I just relate to her and she has good tips (I read hers a lot more than I read my cousin Blake's, but I still love you Blake). I have found many old friends from college and high school, the ward and my mission that I could never keep up with on email but love to be able to check their blogs (even though I am bad at leaving comments). BLOG AWAY PEOPLE!!

Josh did not get his dancing genes from me

It was really windy but we have to keep the lawn in good condition so we decided to water anyway...

June bugs...

As we get ready to leave I am realizing that I might miss the June bugs a little. I don't like waking up in the morning and having dead or almost dead beetles all over the porch and patio. There is usually a lot...like 20 some nights (we do live out in the country a bit). However, I will miss listening to them hit the back door all night long. If you leave on your light on you can expect to hear one every few minutes. They hit into that glass really hard and they aren't small beetles either. It is pretty funny until you open the door for half a second and one flies in. Sometimes they hit so loud and hard you just know they are dead. It reminds me of our bug zapper when I was little ;)

Cars...

I don't think it is a big secret that we are "Cars" fans in this house. We own quite a few the characters with Lighting McQueen and Chick Hicks being our favorite. I guess then it should come as no suprise that Seth has been learning to say "Ka Chow."

Life and the gospel really are amazing...

I don't have much time to get down all my thoughts so I might add some later but it is a stressful time right now. There are so many things I am trying to get done and so much that needs to get done. Plus the anticipation of all the work that will have to be done in the future. When we came to Texas all I really needed was housing and to find where the grocery store was. Life is so much more complicated now and it has been stressful trying to find housing, finish John's dissertation, get the house ready, try and sell the house, pack up, get the info I need for Hyrum, finish off doctors appointments, taxes, etc...you know the list. Anyway, not everything has gone smoothly and the house hasn't sold yet but through it all we have received so much kindness and generosity. I live in one of the best wards and everyone through the years have always been so wonderful and kind. There is always a hello, you look nice, how are things, etc...What amazing blessings the gospel brings even in the smallest form. I worked with some of the greatest women in the RS and John in YM, my visiting teachers for many years have been wonderful, our children have had the best primary teachers and presidency. The sweet friendship and support has made the last few months (and years for that matter) so easy compared to what they could have been. This is my quick thanks to all our wonderful friends, both here and afar, and family. We love you!!

I'm the littlest....

Seth has suffered his first real casualty as the youngest of 4 boys. While everyone was running around outside, Joshua plowed into him and knocked him down onto the pavement. His nose and forehead got some nice scrapes but he recovered quickly and started running around again.

Joshua's Baptism

Joshua was baptized this last Sunday and here are a few pictures from his baptism. Both Grandma and Grandpa Prince spoke at Josh's baptism and Aunt Paula and mommy did a special musical number. Seth and Matthew tried to be as loud as they could without getting in real trouble. Josh is a wonderful boy and we are very happy he chose to be baptized.

An Inconvenient truth....

It is very inconvenient to sell a house. Yesterday someone called in the middle of the afternoon and gave 30 min notice that they were coming. It was, of course, the day I decided to cook up most of the meat for our meals this week and cut up the vegetables. I had to toss the dirty pans in our recycle bin to hide them. I had a load of wet laundry on the rack drying which I just threw back into the hamper. Seth had been asleep for about 40 minutes so I had to wake him up and he was NOT happy. The older boys were unhappy when I picked them up for school and told them we couldn't go home for an other hour because they were STARVING (according to them). Today we have people coming from 5-7pm. John went to bed at 6:00am (dissertation done) and I went to bed at midnight and got up at 5:30 (thank you Matthew) trying to help John. I have to wake John up in a few hours so he can get to school and print off his dissertation to give to professors and get their signature. But wait you are thinking....the house is already clean from yesterday so it shouldn't be a big deal. That is where you are wrong. We had to let the kids back in late yesterday afternoon so it begins again and I really just want a nap today instead of cleaning ;)
Don't get me wrong though....I am more than happy to do it all if that means the house will sell (but I better get to see The Office tonight)!!

John has disappeared from our lives...

John is trying to finish his dissertation. He didn't have much time to begin with but when he reread the fine print on the "rules" for graduating he found out he had even less time. On Monday he discovered that instead of having till next Thurs, he really needed to be done this Thurs. Of course, if he needed longer he could get it but I guess they are very, very grumpy about it so he decided not to deal with it and just finish this week. I think he is planning to rejoin society Friday afternoon after he has caught up on all the sleep he missed this week trying to get everything done by Thurs. Maybe he'll rejoin the family then too ;)

Windows vs. Linux 3 to 2

I think we all know that I have been banished to outer darkness, aka Linux but apparently in outer darkness there are a few things they have figured out ;) This may be my favorite thing about linux. To change the volume you can just move your mouse to the volume icon and use the scroll in your mouse. It is so awesome! You don't have to click and then move the bar up and down and up and down. This is so handy when watching things online....too bad you have to use windows to view almost everything online. Most stuff isn't linux compatible.

PS - hold on to your seats people because I have been informed that the new version of ubuntu comes out on April 24. Welcome Hardy Heron....I can barely wait! Each new version of ubuntu gets more and more like windows. Now if firefox would just join the club!

Windows vs. Linux 3 to 1

So this is really Internet Explorer vs Firefox. The new explorer, while copying the original idea of tabs from firefox, has a better system for tabs (in my opinion). You just click the little tab next to it and a new tab pops out! On firefox you can use key strokes or go up to the menu. Either way it is a little more annoying.