My Husband - The Survey

My friend, Laurel "tagged" me to fill out this survey about my husband, so....lest I stay "tagged", here goes:

What is his name? Blair Richards Randall (all last names, actually)

How long have you been together? Well, we've known each other since November of 1985. Yes, we are old and it took a L-O-N-G time to get together! We started dating in November of 2000, were engaged in March of 2001 and were married June 11, 2001.

How old is he? 43 - and very handsome for an older man!

Who eats more? That is not a nice question, because the honest answer would be ME!

Who is taller? Oh, that would be Blair...by quite a lot.

Who sings better? Honestly? Probably Blair. But I do more singing in the car. I tend to quiet down if Blair is singing, though because he's good!

Who is smarter? Definitely Blair. I like to think I'm smarter, but he has a really good "world view" and tends to be right most of the time. Yes, I just wrote that for the whole world to see!

Whose temper is worse? Definitely mine. It takes quite a lot to make Blair angry (and I know exactly how to accomplish it, not that I'm proud of that).

Whose does the laundry? Most of the time.....Blair. I can do a bunch on Saturdays, but Blair is more consistent during the week.

Who does the dishes? Again, Blair...most of the time.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Weird question, but Blair does. Always has.

Who pays the bills? Me. If I got hit by a mack truck, I'm not quite sure Blair could make sense of how I've arranged everything. Method to my madness, though!

Who mows the lawn? Uh, the lawn care company? The nice part of owning a condo!

Who cooks dinner? Mostly me...although Blair is famous for his goulash, pies, brownies (these are especially yummy) and beef stroganoff. He made this while we were dating and I thought "GAME OVER!" Men who can cook ROCK THE PLANET!

Who drives when you are together? Uh, that would be me. Control freak. All the time.

Who is more stubborn? That would be a tie, I think.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Probably me. Contrary to popular belief, I don't like to fight...just discuss stuff! And, I probably started the "discussion", so I should be the first to apologize!

Whose parents do you see the most? Probably mine, although both our parents live close enough that we see them pretty regularly.

Who kissed who first? Blair kissed me, but WEEKS after we started dating! I was oh, so very ready when he made his move!

Who asked who out? Blair called me after I ran into his Bishop at my Aunt Penny's Open House and suggested we meet for dinner. We did.

Who proposed? That is a tricky one...because the initial conversation was about possibly starting a business together and I asked him how he thought that would be -- working together every day when we didn't even see each other every day at that time, and he said...."Well, I picture us doing that married." And, I quit breathing for about 30 seconds! Discussion went from there and the rest, as they say, is history! I got my ring a few months later.

Who is more sensitive? Blair, but you would never know that. He is quiet, but has a heart as big as the world.

Who has more friends? Well, if our wedding reception was any indication...both of us. We got married "older" and had more time to accquire friends! Most of who came to celebrate with us and most of whom we are still in touch with, along with more we've added in the 6 years we've been married.

Who wears the pants in the family? Me. Yes, I can admit it. Let's just say that I'm trying to give up my control issues, but it might take until I'm 95!

OK, I'm officially "un-tagged" now - thanks, Laurel for such a cool challenge! It was fun thinking of all those wonderful things about Blair. He's one of a kind and I'm blessed and lucky that he chose me!

The Last Pumpkin Harvest Day

The pumpkin patch



Some of the beautiful pumpkins...



All lined up, ready for the kids!



Abby, loving the pumpkins!



Packed up, Pumpkin Harvest Day is over.

In my family, Columbus Day is really "Pumpkin Harvest Day" and has been for more than 25 years now. In fact, Abby argued with her teacher this morning, telling her that "No, it's not Columbus Day, it's Pumpkin Harvest Day!" We've taught her well. My dad has a HUGE garden and uses much of it to grow pumpkins, which we all harvest on Columbus Day and then cart over to my parent's house to distribute to anyone who would like one. We always hand out "pumpkin certificates" and the world pretty much shows up for a free pumpkin. As my grandma is selling the property, this year was our last. And, it was truly celebrated by all who were there! I hope you can tell by the pictures how truly beautiful my dad's garden is. I can only hope that some of that gardening talent has rubbed off on me and someday when we have enough room, we can have a garden as well. I am not a good one for endings and this feels like SUCH an ending! My mom assures me that we will have more fun family traditions and I hope so, we have been blessed over the years with such a fun way to spend a holiday. Abby is excited to start carving her pumpkin...we'll have to hold her off for a few weeks until Halloween. Happy Pumpkin Harvest Day, everyone!

Recent Pictures and Last Farmer's Market

So, the Farmer's Market is officially over. It ended in the pouring rain, which after we were all safely inside, turned to snow. Yes, snow in September! Gotta love it! And, of course I was wearing my flip-flops which I will continue to wear until it REALLY snows (and sticks on the ground). I think I might have been TOO influenced by Hawaii, if that is really possible. Here are some shots from recent events, including the last market on Saturday. Enjoy!




Abby, riding a pony at her school's carnival




Abby, climbing the tree in my parent's front yard




The last Farmer's Market!




Our sign, that we've used for the past 8 years




Me, Derk & Christine, trying not to freeze!

A New Post....Finally!

Yes, I have been a complete blog-slacker these past few weeks! I was head-long into my mid-life crises and have yet to completely come out of it. It probably doesn't help that some of my families traditions are ending this year, as my Grandma is selling her house and the surrounding property where my Dad has his garden. The garden has provided years of hard work experience for all of us (this is where we learned to work!) and in the past 25+ years, has provided pumpkins (enough to give away each Columbus Day which is now officially "Pumpkin Harvest Day") and in the past 8 years has produced enough vegetables during the summer that we've participated in the Ogden Farmer's Market. Well, tomorrow is the last Farmer's Market. I'm trying to be an adult about this, but I am a girl that does NOT do well with any type of change and this will be a hard one. My parents have been unbelieveably generous with their time and produce and 8 years ago when we started the Farmer's Market, they let Derk & I keep all the money! We've since "shared the wealth" so to speak and all of us have participated this summer in one way or another. I have absolutely loved the time I've spent at the market. Derk & I started when we were both single and have spent our summer mornings there since then. I added Blair six years ago, then Abby the next year and they both have grown to love it as much as me. We still have "regulars" from the very beginning and I think next year when people figure out that the green beans are gone, there will be much mourning! And...if that wasn't bad enough...October 8th will be the last "Pumpkin Harvest Day." I made the certificates tonight that my parents will hand out during the upcoming week. I am sooooooo grateful for parents that loved us enough to give us these great opportunities. I only hope I am HALF as good as them and hopefully will be able to provide some good things for Abby. For some reason I can't upload any pictures tonight, so I'll have to try again later. I guess as our old traditions die, new ones will be born...it will be interesting to see what we can create!

Mid-Life Crises

So, two things happened today that I thought deserved some "blogging time." I was on my way to pick up Abby after work and saw three pre-teen girls at the crosswalk on State & South Temple. They were probably around 12-13 years old and were just normal little girls, probably on their way home from school. I was sitting at the red light looking at them and wondering if their moms were worried about them, coming home through downtown all by themselves and how pretty soon I would be that mom, worried about Abby making her way home from school alone. Then, tonight on our way home from Riverdale, Abby & I were listening to Ben Folds (a favorite for us both) and heard the lyric from "Still Fighting It"..."everybody knows it hurts to grow up, but everybody does" and suddenly it hit me...maybe the reason we haven't been able to have another baby is because I probably couldn't handle all this growing up! Having Abby start kindergarten has awakened so many things for me...all conflicting emotions. I am unbeliveably proud of her -- how smart she is, how capable and independent, how much she knows about the world already, but I am also mourning the loss of baby Abby, 18-month-old Abby and all the things I didn't get to do with her. Of course, the "working mom guilt" is probably ten millions times more than it usually is and I find myself stopping several times during the morning and wondering what she is doing at kindergarten. I think if we had more kids, this would just be compounded to the point that I just might have a mid-life crises! I wonder if all moms feel this way, even moms who get to stay home. Probably, right? Just part of the fun of being a mom. In tribute to the Abby of the past...here she is, the summer before I went back to work. She was and still is the best thing on the planet!

Abby, Soccer Girl!

We are having lots of "firsts" with Abby lately. First day of kindergarten, first day riding the bus, and now today was the first day of soccer! She is on the "Lime Ladies" team and did an awesome job today! There are just six little girls on her team, so they all get plenty of time to play. Games are only 20 minutes long because they are still little, but it was so fun to see her play! She loved it (of course) and can't wait for next week when Blair will get to see her play live and in person. It didn't take me long to turn into a "soccer mom", yelling direction and encouragement from the sidelines! Yikes! Karrie, Todd & Bridger came to watch which was really fun...Abby loved that she had her own cheerleaders! Here are a few pictures to illustrate the beginning of her illustrious soccer career!

Abby, before the game started

Chasing the ball....

Abby, kicking the ball!

Trying to get the ball away from the orange girls...

Almost the end of the game! Gotta score that last goal!

After a few errands and a short nap for Abby, we met Derk & Christine for lunch at the Greek Festival...my favorite! It was quite crowded, but as usual, I am grateful for an activity that brings people from literally every walk of life. I love hanging out with EVERYONE! This is Abby's fifth year (yep, she's been every year of her life!) and she's decided she likes the meatballs best. Mmmmm.....they are my favorite as well. OK, besides the diples of course, which I've decided to learn how to make this year. I have awesome Greek friends who have offered to teach me, so we'll see. Next week we might hit the State Fair...September is AWESOME!!!!!!!

The Fun Way to Do Labor Day

As many of you know, Blair & I have parents and grandparents who live relatively close (no, that pun was not intended) to each other. Because of this, we have the blessing of spending pretty much every holiday with BOTH families. And, because we started a fun tradition several Labor Days ago of breakfast at Ruth's Diner with Derk, and then the zoo...we have continued and this year we were lucky enough to have Laurel & Doug in town to accompany us to the zoo! This was Ethan's first time at the zoo and it was SOOOOOOOO fun to get to spend some time with them! It was Christine's first year of the tradition as well, and can I just say how truly AWESOME it is to have such a fun sister-in-law?

This is Blair & Abby (who was thrilled to be with her Dad at the zoo!)

Here are Derk & Christine, getting ready to check out the new baby monkey...(no, not Abby!)

This is Abby & Ethan, pretending to be birds in a nest!

Here is Ethan in the beaver dam...isn't he darling?

After the zoo, we headed for the cabin where Abby spent a few hours in the river -- truly one of her most FAVORITE things on the planet! She has plenty of cousins to play with and had a marvelous time!

Here she is, sitting in the river...this happened accidently, but then she said, "Mom! This is so fun! I'm going to keep sitting here all day!"

My cousin Pamela's son Zachary is Abby's friend and they LOVE playing in the tubes together...this time they found out they could do tricks!

It makes me laugh, only because I spent my entire childhood in this river, doing exactly what Abby thinks is so fun!

OK, last picture...this one is for Jon! Kristin & Blair's feet at the cabin!

We then headed for North Ogden for a BBQ at Randall's and a celebration of Josh's 16th Birthday! He got a lot of i-Tunes cards to add to his collection and a great time was had by all. So, another Labor Day gone...can anyone believe that summer is over? It will be LOVELY to have cooler weather, but I keep thinking of all the fun things I still want to do with Abby and the summer is gone. Ah, well...there are plenty of fun things to do in the fall and winter! This week starts the Greek Festival...one of my FAVORITE things on the planet! It starts Thursday night and continues through Sunday...let's just say I'll be there more than once and can't wait to visit the bakery! The State Fair starts as well, so I'm sure at some point Abby & I will be going down the giant yellow slide. I think it's time for bed now, good night all!