we are sadly coming to grips with life without our families here. nothing can express better how we feel than amy's expression below. this was taken on our trip to california adventure with an abby who probably got a bit sicker because we pushed a bit too hard in the hot hot sun.
we thought of libby (and the deej) as we watched the high school musical cast members do their thing...
we thought of stevie as we watched jared zabransky pull off the statue of liberty on the last play of overtime against oklahoma...
we thought of lafey as a boy heelied his way into disneyland next to us...
we thought of hannah as our phone doesn't text anymore because the three and the seven don't work...
we thought of jonny (and mewinda) as michael was sounding out words and he read J.O.N. as 'jonny'...
we thought of grandpatty as we had the last of the french toast sauce on our sweet, sweet grandma sycamore's bread...
we thought of grandpappy as i continue to live as a resident in california (namely night shifts all this week)...
we think of you often and hope all pull out of the new year doldrums without consequence...!
41 comments:
Paul didn't ask my permission to post this photo... but it reminds me of Libby's google ID picture, so I'm not too worried!
Yes, reality has hit us with the girls' being sick (mostly poor Abby) and Paul's nightshifts. But all is not hum-drum... I've been quite busy finding ways to use all the leftover food that is in our fridge. We had a mean lasagna last night thanks to my mom, and lots of turkey sandwiches.
Stevie... do you think you could solve our problem of no pictures by sending us a sweet CD of all the ones you took?? Please? Pretty please????
Thanks again to both families... over and over again... for such a wonderful holiday. When we moved to California, I wondered what Christmas would be like, since I knew there was no way (because of Paul's schedule) we would be able to travel to see family. What a pleasant surprise when BOTH families wanted to come. I'm glad we live in a fun place to visit! You all made our first Christmas in California a wonderful one, and we love you.
Please come again... soon.
I know that this is a little late, but I was just looking through some of the entries from last month, and, did I read it right? Comparing some cute roller coasters in California to THE BEAST at King’s Island in Cincinnati? I am having a hard time believing that Amy has become that Californiaized already. Are you forgetting your heritage? It isn't a real roller coaster if it isn't made of wood, and if you don't feel like you are going to be thrown out of the car at any moment.
Thanks again for the wonderful Christmas that you made possible, Paul and Amy. I wonder when we will be able to pull it all off together again, and what our families will be like by then.
paul and amy hello: i think i'm pulling out of the doldrums ok but i ain't sure. i will download the pics and send them over.
hello dad and stevie. nice to see you both avoiding a daliance in the doldrums.
it is true. when i told amy about six flags she assumed it couldn't compare with king's island. i, of course, thought king's island was a kid's playground back east. neither of us had heard of the other's place of roller coaster upbringing. the result is that both companies have probably upgraded since amy and i last went. there are some pretty hairy rides at six flags LA.
however, nothing compares to amy's memories of riding the beast with her dad...
stevie, nice to hear from you.
also, i found this very poignant piece on the worldwide applicability of the mormon faith from 'the economist'. always the pragmatic paper it has it's problems, but on the whole is favorable towards the mormons...
and incidentally brings home some points near to my heart (and the other paul's heart)...mongolia, mitt romney and brandon flowers.
Let me tell you something about Paul's roller coaster "upbringing." Before we went to Six Flags, he started talking about rides from Lagoon. Lagoon??? = Lame-o
I, on the other hand, lived a charmed childhood filled with King's Dominion and King's Island. Raised by the biggest coaster lover, himself... my dad. My dad mentioned the Beast... only THE LONGEST wooden roller coaster in the WORLD. Lagoon?? Puh-lease.
I still can't believe that it took 6 years of being married for us to finally ride some coasters together. I don't think Paul realized what a big roller coaster fan I am, or I'm sure he would have taken better care of me. I'm just glad my dad didn't realize that I was being deprived 6 whole years. He might have had a "talk" with Paul.
And, dad... these roller coasters are more than just cute. True, they aren't wooden, and nothing can beat a great wooden roller coaster. But they do offer all that the latest technology has to offer... seats that swivel 360 degrees; being strapped suspended horizontally above the ground; corkscrews, loops, and drop-offs galore. All bells and wistles? Maybe... but this California girl loved it! Now I just hope it doesn't take another 6 years to get back!
lagoon rocks. it seems that there was a tragic accident on the mouse trap one year...
um...amy: i hope you are in no way down-talking lagoon. it is the one light still shining brightly from my childhood.
Lagoon = Lame-o
But I guess it is all relative. Stevie... if Lagoon is a shining light for you, I say: Shine On!
But we're taking you to Six Flags when you come see us again. Cleave unto further light, brother.
"The Colossus was added to Lagoon's ride line-up in 1983. In 1984, the Fire Dragon was selected by People Magazine as one of the top ten coaster rides in the country!"
lagoon...a theme park ahead of its time.
lagoon = ladies.
that was the only way to mee the hot farmington girls. way hotter than those hot manti girls.
did you hear that cutler? hotter than manti girls.
when a theme park is so ahead of the curve that you spend time picking up on women rather than riding the rides then it has to be great...
caveat: i only pick-up on amy now.
Hi Frandsen's. This has nothing to do with your post, I'm not blog savvy, so forgive me for breaking any rules, but I happened to watch Oprah today and I thought of you. Has anyone ever told you that you look like Dr. Mehmet Oz? If not, I will be the first. Paul, you look like Dr. Oz. Anyway, carry on your talk about Lagoon babes. I need to get our families into this blogging thing, it could be fun. We're still doing the reply all. By the way it looks like our options are Woodland, CA....Grand Terrace....or Long Beach. We should know in February. Take care, Amy
p.s. did both of your families go to Cali for Christmas? If so...amazing, how did you put that one together?
oprah?
stevie: oprah=my guilty viewing pleasure.
amy: you haven't broken any rules. we don't have any rules on this blog really...mostly because no one has broken any yet.
so grand terrace is SEVEN miles from our home! Wouldn't that be cool if you moved here and lived in our ward or something. then i would have someone to biking with. we would probably be taking sick patients from joe's home at our hospital...
long beach would be gorgeous. it would be my first choice (unless of course you want to live in a more affordable neighborhood near us so joe can still bike (trails within minutes of our home).
woodland is near sacramento? and i know little about it.
amy: pay no mind to the hipster (stevie) behind the curtain.
amy: i'm speechless. here is a photo gallery of oprah and dr. oz talking about poop...maybe it's the scrubs?
Amy L... my vote is for your fam to move to Grand Terrace. But we have selfish reasons. I know Michael would love to have playdates with your girls.
Peter... I see your extracurricular activities haven't changed much.
Paul... talking about poop does seem to run in the family, I think. But you are much more handsome than Dr. Oz. And cuter, too.
AJ et al
HOW ABOUT THOSE GATORS??? 41 Florida, 14 Ohio.
4 (really 5, if you ask me) sacks on the Heisman Trophy winner, only 82 total yards for OSU (not even a full football field's length), and the biggest win against Ohio with their current head coach. It just wasn't a fair match up.
GO URBAN MEYER... we might not be Utah fans, but we will always cheer for him.
hey. dr oz? i thought his name looked familiar. i'm pretty sure this guys is prof at columbia and that he taught a couple classes to us last year during that block either renal or GI, i can't remember.
paul.
oprah? i would rather you said walmart is a guilty pleasure and you know how i feel about walmart...
petey: okay, so i don't watch oprah...i prefer tyra.
yes, dr. oz is from columbia. did you think of me when he taught your GI course?
oh, and the BCS is a farce. the voters were convinced Ohio could not be beaten and that florida did not belong in the game.
playoff please?
can you hear me now...?
i'm pretty sure i told my buddies several times about that story when we were doing that block
Amy - It's a toss up between Grand Terrace and Woodland for us. They seem to have similar real estate markets. Joseph will meet with corporate in the coming weeks to determine the right fit. You've like the area? We are trying to learn everything we can about both right now. Joe has been prepping the girls with every song relating to California. Abby started singing Dani California at dinner tonight. I'm sure my girls would love to have a playdate.
Paul - About Oprah...Don't worry I am not ashamed. Any tv show that isn't made for toddlers is a guilty pleasure for me. I've been trying to break away from Jerry Springer/Maury Povich and the like. (: So as long Oprah stays away from political propoganda, paternity tests, and topics you might see on desperate housewives it gets me through the occasional 4:00 tantrum.
amy: we like the area...a lot. there is too much traffic and there is smog in the summer. however, the weather is good year round. it is not quite as temperate as the coast, but i road my road bike yesterday in 70 degree weather.
there is a temple in redlands. there are lots of mormons here. we really like the mormons here. it is a fun mix of old timers and converts.
there are mountains really close by here and they make me feel a bit closer to home. disneyland is 45-60 minutes drive away. season passes are $125. the beach is 1 hour away. which is to far to take the family every week, but not too far to go once a month.
we live 10 minutes (or less) from I-15 (the I-15 your parents are 10 minutes away from). one more way we feel so close to home. my mom swears she made it home in 7 1/2 hours when she made the trip with Lafe. 7 1/2 hours is not that far from home. (my) amy has made the trip twice by herself.
san bernardino county is not 'the OC' (that's the orange county to you petey) with the super rich, out in left field, escalade soccer moms. we have more of a mix of income and realism in our county--although there are still plenty of escalade soccer moms here too.
did i mention we are ten minutes from the temple?
there are less nice cities here. don't live in san bernardino, don't live in colton (there a fewer good pockets). we looked in to place in grand terrace, but didn't like the neighborhood. however, we bought a deep freeze from a guy in grand terrace and his neighborhood was nice. basically, there are plenty of safe, family friendly places to live, but finding one should take priority over the cost and size of your home. location, location, location.
would joe's facility have the words 'reche canyon' in it?
i'm rambling now, but those are the things we really like about the area right now. let me know if you have other questions...
that would be pretty crazy/cool to have you guys move down here by us. who would have thunk?
petey and stevie: you need to put your clear play dvd player to work and rent 'thank you for smoking'. very funny. very relevant. hollywood politics...but you already know how i feel about the church of liberalism, and i still like it.
and amy liked it too.
have you seen one flew over the cuckoo's nest yet? was it funny?
i've never seen a full episode of oprah. i did see clips of tom cruise with oprah though...that was entertaining.
my cousin diana's husband has an office in the high-rise adjacent to oprah's penthouse office in chicago.
i see snippets of jerry springer when i round on patients in the mornings who have their tv's on.
i've never seen a full episode of desperate housewives either (please say you don't peter).
all this self-disclosure is so unsettling...
it feels like the good old days when i used to post comments five at a time in deltars dominion...
where have those days gone stephen?
aj: post a comment on my blog too.
paul: no worries. i've never seen DW. also saw thank you for smoking. did you know the male lead in that movie "is" a mormon guy. he's been seen to frequent the UWS ward out here from time to time when he's in town. and i too will admit that i've seen the tom cruise fiasco on oprah as well.
i'm also kinda sad that you won't be buying amy an escalade any time soon...
what's mine is amy's...if she buys and escalade she will have bought it.
aaron eckhart a mormon? did steve martin baptize him?
could hollywood be anymore hypocritcal as it slams big business--while grossing millions on its sleezy bread and butter movies?
just wondering.
not that i support big business killing people. the movie was disturbingly funny.
I've been away for a while, and I need to do some catching up.
As far as roller coasters go, Paul, I think you may have misread the article. I'm pretty sure the Fire Dragon was rated top 10 in the County, not Country. It is not true that lagoon = lame, but it is true that lagoon rides = Magic Johnson's talk show = beyond lame. I know this for a fact, as my brother-in-law had season passes to lagoon so that he could pick up on Farmington babes. You didn't get season passes to Kings Island to pick up on chicks. I am still scared of "The Beast". Everytime I got on I left with a headache that lasted for hours. Do you remember when Paul Risenmay nearly flew out of the coaster because he had no contact with the lap bar?
Paul, you don't look like that guy (Dr. Oz?). I do see a resemblence between your scrubs and his.
I can't stand the BCS, and I am starting to dislike Urban Meyer as well. He will talk bad about the BCS still if he has something to gain. That is how he got to the national championship this year. If it benefits him to be the BCS poster boy, he will do it. Sorry, Amy. We will see if I am right next year:
Urban Meyer keeps his mouth shut while Florida stays #1 all next year = Urban Meyer is a BCS poster boy
paul.
is this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Eckhart
enough?
ps. teach me how to link in comments to avoid the annoying copy/past routine...
Aaron Eckhart reminded me of Patrick Swayze. Yes? Our Clear Play DVD player is allowing all kinds of new movie-viewing possibilities--so it was only semi-evident the kind of language Brother Eckhart used in the movie (Thank You For Smoking). Paul and I agreed it was thought-provoking and hypocritical.
Paul... do you post all these comments when you are "watching the kids", or something?? Sheesh (in English, Peter).
Amy L... The thing I love about this area is that it is on the outskirts of Southern California... basically an hour away from all the fun stuff--but far enough away to have the hometown feel and down-to-earth people. And like Paul said, I love the church members here... so many varried situations and stories, and it has been refreshing to me.
Everyone... it has been confusing to myself to see my name without my own comments posted beside it... FYI Amy in BLACK is one of our friends from Paul's high school years... everyone should tell her to move close to us!
Matt... thanks for backing me up on the roller coaster debate. Only those who have experienced The Beast can truly know. WHEN you come out in April, I think we're going to have to make a trip to Six Flags...
... and I think I'll stand by Urban Meyer's character. You're on.
eckhart a mormon...cool.
petey, i just googled 'html hyperlink' and bookmarked the page. when i do it i just copy and paste the link from that page. i would type the link here for you but then it would link it...
matt: if sandia was was involved in a major contract that you were personally the head of and it was making a bunch of money...would you denounce sandia for it's superior talent and denounce it's place in the project--despite the smaller companies who wanted a piece but weren't quite as good? if there were some monopolistic tactics would you lash out in the media before working through proper channels? would it be appropriate to lash out? would you be fired? should you resign first and then lash out?
the case could be made that urban has more credibility agreeing with the need for a playoff but working within the confines of the law and making changes from within...
Paul,
I didn't say anything about lashing out and getting fired. A simple comment about the right Boise State should have to play them (just like he talked about what Utah should have had in 04'-05') is not lashing out. It is simply consistent.
The fact that he stepped up in front of all his players after the national championship to take the trophy and smiled and nodded his head for five minutes before handing it to Chris Leak seemed inconsistent and self-absorbed to me.
I've followed Urban Meyer with interest because of his sensationalism and position to effect changes. Now that he has reached the top of college stardom, it begins to seem like it was all self-promotion and nothing more.
Like I said, next year will tell what kind of man he is, but I predict he will be as mum on the subject of a playoff as the coaches (USC, ND, etc.) that always get a shot at the big stages of the BCS. He certainly didn't seem concerned about the unfairness of it all Monday night. All we will hear him talk about from now on is his program and how tough the SEC is, because it will get him what he wants. I just expected more of him.
... and I truly hope that my prediction is wrong. If there is someone that can make changes from a head coaching position, it is him.
matt: fair enough. he definitely has a good sized ego.
Bah Humbug-ers.
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