If only I had known!

I have some advice for all you single gals out there. Before you marry some man you should really get to know him. Now I know you think that you will get to know him by spending more time with him but in reality you should spend time with... his brothers. Then you will be exposed not to the "I-am-really-trying-hard-to-woo-you" boyfriend but also to the harsh reality of the men of the family!

Case in point (and in this case the only case because I only have one husband).

My brother-in-laws. I have a whole slew of them. If I had only taken a break from hanging out in la-la land with Dave and spent more time with them I would have known more before I was married. (Don't get me wrong. I would have married him no matter what because he is actually a champion among men!) But. I just would have known a few things for certain.

"Things I Would Have Known About Dave by Hanging With His Brothers"

• Rollins Boys are PICKY eaters (Nate only ate Cheerios, Pizza and rolls before his mission)

• Rollins Boys are shy (None of them would speak to me until I was actually in the family, except Mark)
• Rollins Boys are opinionated (Mark tried to convince me that the landing on the moon was a hoax)
• Rollins Boys are STUBBORN (Bryan refused to hold Aaron when he was a baby. I haven't tried with the following 3)
• Rollins Boys like to play games (This would have really been a disappointment because Dave is the only one not to get this gene!)
• Rollins Boys have great singing voices (Except Dave. He just needs some training, right Mom?)
• Rollins Boys are extremely loyal (They will always have my back. Although I would prefer not to know what they are doing behind it!)
• Rollins Boys are extremely stubborn. (Paul and I talked about relationships for 2 hours without him saying 1 helpful comment)
• Rollins Boys like the Simpsons (I hate it)
• Rollins Boys like science fiction/fantasy books/stuff. (I read Enders Game because it was a goal that I had to read 1 book from all the areas in the store while at Deseret Book and that was the one that Blake thought I would be ok with reading.)
• Rollins boys consider shorts in winter normal.
• Rollins boys are overly stubborn. (Mark will argue any point even if he figures out he was wrong just because he will never admit he was wrong)
• Rollins boys can be sensitive although they would rather die than admit it and will mock each other relentlessly for it.


• Rollins boys are big teases.
• Rollins boys wink in the cutest way. (Although Bryan has never winked as far as I know!)
• Rollins boys have great memories. (Nate is actually the only one with a fantastic memory now that I know them better, Mark forgot his anniversary. really.)
• Rollins boys are all flirts. (You would never guess it but it is true!)
• Rollins boys are very generous with those they love. Or so I hear from those they love.
• Rollins boys are funny. Or so they think.
• Did I mention they are stubborn? Here is Paul when I asked him to hold Joe-Joe. He said no way. So I just put the baby on him and he still refused to hold him and told me he would not be responsible if Joe rolled off.

Stubborn. It is the Rollins boy theme.

And I should know. I am now living with 6 of them.

They have learned from the best. And I love them all!

Joe Joe!

Happy Birthday Joe! Then

and

Now! Joe Joe turned 3! Therefore I must tell you why I love him. Because I knew you were wondering. I love Joe because he is such a peculiar child. For one thing he is the only one of my children who likes to get his picture taken. I love Joe because he is overflowing with life. Everything is very dramatic. Even the act of raising his eyebrows must be done with great enthusiasm. I love Joe because he loves everyone around him. He feels for them. If they are sad he is sad. For a little kid he feels things very deeply. Heck, for that matter, he feels things deeper than some adults. I love Joe because he makes me laugh. He makes lots of people laugh. One of my favorite moments is when he climbed up on his Uncle Nate and put his elbows on Nate's chest rested his head in his hands and very dramatically asked Nate if he wanted to ride in his car. A silly question but I guess the picture will be forever imprinted in my mind. At that point in time nothing was more important than asking his uncle to go for a ride in the car. The best part was that Nate couldn't help but laugh also. I miss these curls...
But I still have these eyes and this smile!Joe loves to play with the boys. He loves them all and asks about each one every morning to make sure they are where they should be! He sings "I love Aaron. He Loves Me, Happy Family!" and he will go through everyone in the family and I mean everyone. Including Hope and Walter. Hope and Walter are dogs. And they are not our dogs. Joseph loves cars more than anything in the world...
Except for maybe his blanket. Joe-Joe loves his blanket. The one with the fuzzies.
I love how affectionate Joe still is to everyone. He will come up with his blanket (the one with the fuzzies) and ask for a snuggle. He loves to give kisses and has a fun game he plays with his dad because his dad won't kiss on the lips. His favorite kind of hugs are Joe Sandwich hugs where Dave and I squish him between us. I love Joe because even when he pouts it is funny. He does it exactly as he should. Arms folded, lower lip extended, partially hidden. He does it well.

I love my Joe. He loves me. Happy family indeed!

Dad's Legacy

DISCLAIMER: I am not really as full of myself as I may sound here. I was honestly trying to get both of the "Tan Ones" to comment. Goal Achieved!

My dad had many good traits some of which he passed on to his children. I like to think I got all of his good traits (and none of the bad or crazy traits). That is just the way I roll. Positive thinker and all.

But. There is one I totally got ripped off on inheriting. His skin. Dad had beautiful olive toned skin. It made for a healthy tan year round and he never really got sun-burned. Ever. Two of my siblings got this skin. The rest of us did not.


I used to try every summer to get a little color but this is what would happen. On the other hand here is what the Dad skin coloring does. Sometimes I would be willing to trade some of my other inherited traits for a good tan. Of course my far superior sense of humor would be hard to give up just for a good tan. And apparently in my family you either get the skin or the humor.

Spring Break '09

WARNING: Lots of family pictures from our trip. You can just read this line and look at the one picture.

We had a great time on Spring Break. Here is a picture.For those who would like more details. (aka Mom)

Here is my long awaited vacation guide...

Goblin Valley:

Accommodations: Camping available but I recommend the Holiday Inn in Green River for those who can't pack all the camping equipment AND all the kids without bringing a second car. We thought about just leaving a few kids home but the family couldn't come to a consensus as to which two.

The hotel was great but they made a mistake and gave us a room with a king instead of 2 queens so in order to have enough beds Dave was on one end of the floor with 2 kids and I was clear on the other end with the 3 others. It was a big pain the first night cuz he had my contact case so I ran down and got that then I realized he had the toothpaste so I ran back down again. I did this several times but it was really good for the Lose for the Cruise program! The complimentary breakfast was yummy but horrible for those trying to partake in the Lose for the Cruise. (OK too much typing, it is now called the LC)

A not very comfy bed. See that tiny blue dot in the middle of that wall. That is a kid. Here he is using the zoom.

Activities: I highly recommend Goblin Valley to anyone who likes to climb or for anyone who has 5 boys who like to climb! I don't recommend that Mom's who have acrophobia watch the climbing! There is a really cool cave but the exit is so small Josh almost got stuck. For a dad with claustrophobia that was not a highlight. We also discovered an awesome canyon that lead up to an amazing bowl! It was like a natural coliseum!

See what I mean about heights? The boys loved playing tag and jumping from rock to rock. Did I mention they loved to climb every rock they saw? The also liked to find funny shaped ones and name them. I think this was Dino Rock!

Little Wild Horse Canyon: That afternoon we went and hiked this amazing canyon. It is a slot canyon that has crazy twisting walls and beautiful rock formations.

The boys loved to bridge the walls also.

Nine Mile Canyon: The next day we went on a LONG drive through nine mile canyon. Nine mile canyon for the record is more like 80 miles long. The walls are literally covered with petroglyphs. We found a guide online that had us on track to see some of the amazing scenery and artifacts in the canyon. It was truly amazing to see the Indian sites left by the Fremont Indians so many years ago. Here are some of the sights.

You see that little circular rock formation in the center of the picture. That is a granary left by the Fremont Indians years ago. They would store grain there to hide it from their enemies. The amazing thing is the location. Can you find it now? It is on this wall. Here it is. Guess how long that took us to find? And that raises the question. Who in the world found this in the first place? Another thought. That sure makes a trip to the pantry take on a whole new meaning. It would have been life threatening snack for goodness thanks! (Wait that might be a good idea for those on the LC plan!)Here is a watchtower that is still in great shape. Here is a huge panel of petroglyphs that is down a little side canyon. It is called "The Great Hunt". Amazing isn't it? I wish would have found one called "Going to the Granary" After our trip we took a small detour to Mountain Green/Boneta to see Dave's Grandma Crawford's grave. Yeah we are totally turning into old people who stop by old cemetaries just for fun! After this detour we headed home.
Well, that is it. Spring Break 2009! I came home with tired, dirty and very happy kids! (And lots of laundry!! Curses!!!)