What is Unique?

You know that saying, "You are unique...just like everybody else"?

Yeah that is soooooo not the case in the House of Nuts.

We are unique

You'll never meet anyone else like us

You may never want to.

♥
So what makes us unique?
Lots and lots and lots and lots....
and lots of things.

I'll just share one today--Deruda

Deruda enjoys running on the treadmill
but on this day he decided it would be 'cooler' to run in his socks
until he realized that smashing your feet into a hard plastic surface for an extended period of time is...well...not comfortable.
(this one's a bright bulb folks)
Unfortunately his socks are now a little bit dirty
but poor Deruda didn't want the INSIDE of his running shoes to be dirty
so what does he do?
puts on his nice Sunday shoes
because apparently Sunday shoes can be dirty on the inside.
What else can be said?
Except maybe to share this video of him attempting to dance,
on the treadmill
in his clean-on-the-outside-dirty-on-the-inside Sunday shoes.
We should probably come up with an acronym for that
......C.O.T.O.D.O.T.I.....
or maybe
I.M.A.D.O.R.K.
yep, that'll work
Here you go:

Running but getting nowhere @ Yahoo! Video

On the Cita side of things, I took pictures of her at school today.  

It was crazy hair day or hat day

She wore a hat

I think she looks kind of French

and adorable

The cita is a short woman

but that is why we love her

and tease her without mercy.

♥ ♥ ♥

A week in the Nuthouse.

My little brother (the little juan) and his best friend used to make music videos when they were bored.  They would spend hours choreographing silly dances, creating costumes made out of beanies and sunglasses, and memorize the words so they could lip-sync.  Apparently that is something my familia really loves to do.  We don't always make music videos, but making videos is something we love to do.  On Monday Otis came over for dinner and after teaching her how to play Ninja Destruction (don't ask, don't tell), we made these two videos.

The first is about how to Neutralize Your Opponent 101--using just your toes.  Enjoy!

How To Neutralize Your Opponent 101--with your toes @ Yahoo! Video

The next video is an examination on how to fall gracefully.  This is our first and only take...it's painful, we didn't want to fall more than once. :)

Falling Gracefully--a study @ Yahoo! Video

So there are quite a few more than these and they will be posted at some random point when I get them off my ipod. :)

On the male side of things, here is a few things that have happened this week:

Deruda made his first batch of cinnamon rolls--BY HIMSELF!!!

I took pictures to commemorate the occasion.

(yes he is shirtless underneath that apron, I'm not sure if that makes this better or worse)

Deruda is super excited that he didn't kill the yeast.  I have the 'prettiest' brother.  Isn't he adorable?

Here is the finished product.

Another story for this week is when I told the padre that I had a new device that would help him breathe better.  

I think it actually worked a little bit.

Don't worry, I hadn't used them since I got my pedicure.  :)  

We are a vindictive bunch sometimes. :)

So there is the familia update.  We are happy, mostly healthy, and going strong!  We are more excited for spring then we can possibly express though.  

What do you do on Sunday Nights?

It sure isn't as fun as what we do.  Last night I was talking with some familia and suddenly we heard this craziness from the kitchen.  So I whipped out the camera and recorded it for all the world to see and laugh at.  I really wish I could say that this was just a side effect of the extreme spring fever we are all suffering (we are definitely a warm weather family) but I can't.  This is normal for us.  Gotta love the familia.

Sunday Night Madness @ Yahoo! Video

Family time--nut style

So yesterday evening we got to spend some family time together and it was pretty great. The padre, Stephie and Aliswan got to go to the temple together while the cita and bug ran some errands.
The temple was so beautiful. After we got out of the temple we decided that it was warm enough to walk around the grounds. It's the end of January so obviously it doesn't look like this picture (there is still snow everywhere), but we walked around the grounds anyway. It was the most beautiful time of day. The view from the entrance of the temple is surreal. You can see across the valley to Utah Lake and yesterday there was the most beautiful sunset. It was a gorgeous time to be together at the temple.
After the cita and bug picked us up we went home, got Deruda, and went to Golden Corral. Anyone who knows our family knows how much we love buffets. It was soooooo good.

On the way the the padre tried to take some pictures but for some reason they kept turning out a little strange. So being the nuts we are, we decided to play with that a bit. Make sure to check out Bug's face in the back. It is often priceless. Also check Deruda's...it is often...doing nothing.

Deruda is in the back trying to act cool while Bug is laughing at his attempt.

Stephie cowering in fear as Aliswan gets after her for farting in the middle of the night...all the time. Bug attempts to be supportive while Deruda is...indifferent (because he does it too!).

On an ending note I would like to share a story:

Once upon a time there was a pumpkin that was purchased at Halloween.

Why did the padre purchase this particular pumpkin?

Well, because it was super cheap.

Why was it so cheap?

BECAUSE IT WAS ROTTING!

So what did we do?

Place it on a rock outside with it's rotting side hidden from the world.

...and then...

it was promptly forgotten until a massive snow storm hit and the snow from it buried the pumpkin alive and half rotten.

And then the poor members of the House of Nuts could not remember if we ever threw the rotting pumpkin away or if it was still on that rock in front of the house...it was discussed, questioned but then forgotten.

Until a little bit ago when suddenly the snow melted and there was a frozen, rotting pumpkin, on a rock in front of our house.

So what did Stephie do?

Kick it.

After which it promptly collapsed.

Rotting pumpkin, if we ever remove you from that rock in front of the house,

may you rest in peace.

Wii like to play!!!--DDR and Mariokart

Wii are loving the Wii! Our favorite games on the Wii include:

Wii Resort: Basically all the games--this one is awesome folks. The padre and the cita both enjoy slicing things like eggs, bread and sushi at accelerated rates. Stephie is killer at dueling in Swordplay. (haha 'killing' get it?)

Wii Play--Bug and Aliswan love the shooting game while Deruda loves the tanks.

Mariokart--the most played and one of the favorites. On New Years Eve Otis annihilated all of us to win her first Grand Prix. She was proud, we were proud, so we took a pic to commemorate the event.

DDR--not played everyday or anything but when we do play, we play for hours. Pretty decent workout really. Here is an example: :)

Wii like to DDR @ Yahoo! Video

Finally, on the family end of things, Bug had a concert for her ballroom class at school.

Aliswan had fun getting her ready and she had a blast performing.

Bug also learned how to put on fire-engine red lipstick for the first time! I'm really not sure how important that is in the big scheme of things but...oh well.

So there is the most current update of some of the nuts in our House of Nuts!

Holiday

Our holiday was full of fun, family, and food...a very, very large amount of food. While there are definitely Thanksgiving pictures, they are not with me at the moment and so they will not be included. If that is a problem take it up with the cita, who apparently refuses to update the blog. Because of this, you will only be getting Christmas pictures...which is still awesome, because let's face it...Christmas was awesome. Eat up!

Merry Christmas! You get Karen and Aliswan covering their holiday chins!

'Andrew the Angel' with his lego wings reading poetry...yes I'm serious.

Grandpa reading everyone poetry on Christmas Eve.

We think we may have a new Christmas Eve tradition!!! HOAGIES!!! Best dinner ever!

Karen and Aliswan made deviled eggs for the first time. They were scrumptious...even this poor egg whom Nate grabbed. We had a bit of a hard time peeling the shell off this one.

The girls with their new Christmas Eve pajamas! Check out those hotties!

And then there were the boys matching pajamas...wouldn't they make a great boys band with their baggy booties? :)

So basically these are pictures of Christmas Eve only, but the ones from Christmas day aren't as exciting as these. Christmas day consisted of many traditions. We jumped on the parentals bed (scaring them awake), we gave them the first ever kids gift which was a pretty awesome experience. We decided to buy them a digital frame--we put a ton of family pictures on the walls upstairs and left a space for the frame. When they woke up we gave them a USB, which they had no idea what it was, full of pictures. When they walked out of their door they saw the frame, plugged in the USB, and walah! pictures! It was really good.

We also got a Wii for the family. Boy has that been great. Suddenly all of the kids are doing their chores and sucking up to the parentals. Best purchase ever! Also it is quite fun and provides hours of family time and entertainment.

The cita also got a kitchenaid. I had my first Black Friday experience getting it for her and let me tell you, I'm awesome. I scared those poor people spitless. No taking the last kitchenaid from me, no sireee. So we have been baking a ton with that. In fact I made my first loaves of homemade bread...again, the first time was rough but the second round was scrumdidileeumptious! I'm very proud, so here is a picture:

So it is New Years Eve and hopefully there will be more news and pictures to come! We are sad to see the Christmas break coming to a swift close. :( Happy Holidays! They have been wonderful!

So it's been more than a little while....

That's a major understatement. I've been gone for the summer and the fam isn't quite sure how to post things so here is a rundown of our lives since...I don't know, over a year ago?!? Yes, I like to think that we are really bad at this. :) So the Aliswan will give you a rundown of the last year and 3 months in order.
First off, the little juan left on his mission on August 27, 2008. He has now been gone over a year! For pictures and letters check out his mission blog.
Next, the familia no longer lives in Tooele! The house is now being rented by some really nice folks and the family has followed me to Provo (can't get rid of these buggers). So here is a little glimpse at the new abode.

Let's see what else.
The padre is still working at Dugway but in his spare time he has enjoyed putting the yard together with his new best friend Tyler-san. (katate kid reference sorry).

The Cita is teaching at a great little elementary school as a third grade teacher and boy they give her a run for her money. She is also preparing to apply for a masters program which has us all pretty excited.



Aliswan...well this last summer I moved to Tonopah, Nevada and worked as an archaeologist for the forest service. To say I was hard core would be an understatement, after 3 months of camping, site recording a hiking several hundred miles I find Provo life a little busy and yet slow. Oh, and I am about to graduate college and go to grad school. Kudos kids, kudos.

Stephie is now a senior in high school and is about to graduate. She went to prom this year with a friend from Tooele and she also went to the Govenor's Honors Academy and got a large scholarship to SUU! So guess who Jon gets to watch out for down in Cedar City this fall? :)Deruda is doing really well, he is taking piano lessons from Aunt Karen, art lessons from Auntie Amanda and has finally joined the swim team which we are all really excited about. He and Stephanie worked at Seven Peaks this summer and so he also saw quite a bit of babe action for a 15 year old. (Definitely his words and NOT mine). :)
Bug is doing fantastic in her new school. Her grades are high and she works her little tail end off. She is involved in the drama program and played one of the Piccadilly Ladies in her school play, the Music Man. We all now know the words to all of those songs. She also has been doing exceptionally well on her cello.

Finally Aunt Karen, Uncle Nate, Tyler and Lizzie moved in with us for a bit while they are looking for a house and we all absolutely love it! It's nice to have kids in the house that say hi to you every morning and hug you and kiss you all over. It has been a wonderful adventure having them here and we all don't know what we will do when they leave. :(

Well there is a very sad and ridiculously brief summary of the past year and three months. We promise we will do better. Well I'll try to get them to do better if you know my family you would understand. :) Adios!