UEA Break!

We had a little fun this long UEA weekend. Took a couple days and played at the sand dunes with Eldon and his little ones. Charlie, Tamara and I competed in our state Karate Competition. Charlie and I took 3rd place in our divisions. Tamara has been going to instructor school, so she competed against a lot of different belts. She worked the whole competition helping judge and organize. She is doing great! Charlie and I spent Monday at the Dinosaur Museum. I have been promising him a visit for some time. We had a great time. Some time, when I get a moment to talk with you, I will tell you about my awesome jump on the 4 wheeler that scared Zach to death, defied any of Eldon's dare devil moves and made me laugh so hard... you know what happened next! Love you all.

Fall

I love this time of year. The smells of autumn bring back good memories. The beginning of school at BYU is a good memory. I loved college. I loved learning. I loved my professors. I loved being on my own. I can remember struggling to find a job and wondering what in the world I had gotten myself into. Did I seriously think I could move 800 miles away and survive! Then, I landed jobs at the cougar eat, worked in catering, rode my boyfriends bike to clean a house somewhere out of town up a huge hill in the middle of winter with all the snow and ice that falls in Provo! Was I crazy? A little desperate, but not crazy! I was scared and would not ever let anyone know. I ate soda crackers to make the rent and it was a good thing I worked at the cougar eat, there was always food lieing around that I could snitch at. I would always take a 'sub' job to work in the bowling alley serving ice cream! You can imagine why. I didn't really date, I felt lonely a lot of the time, but I found comfort in just being me, figuring out who I was, and I took a ton of elective courses that, quite frankly, sounded like I could use the information somewhere down the road, in life. I learned how to write in caligraphy, compose music, do geneaology, write personal histories, be a missionary, sing, speak a semester of Japanese, cook elegant food, bowling, interior decorating, art history, architectural history, the history of Scandinavia, drafting, and I paid for one semester of piano lessons! I figured if I was going to go to school, I was going to make it worth my time. Yes, I love the smell of fall in the air... I had a great birthday this year. We took the four wheelers up to Brigham City and saw the sights in The Mountains! What fun we had. We were all dumbfounded as Tyler immediately sat down on one, aske dif he could ride and took off!! No hesitations. Just off and away he went, following Charlie over jumps and around trees. He loved his new found freedom. The trip was worth it just for that! Tyler was behind the wheel and loving it!

Wisdom Teeth and Bike Crashes... all in a days work!

We ended the summer with a few scrapes and burns but managed to live through it all. Tami and Zach had their wisdom teeth removed. Zach's were pretty swollen for awhile. Tami's were hardly noticable. Charlie took a big fall on the skateboard. His face met the board in a hard way! I cut the tip of my finger off with a knife and then choked to near death at school. Jay fell off the 4 wheeler and bruised up his back and side. He has been waling tender for a couple weeks now. But hey! We are all in one piece and going strong!

Rockin' Reunion

What is a family reunion without someone writing about it and telling their view of the event. As if one person summarizing the event is actually the story. It can't be. I teach that to my fifth graders every year. Primary documents are only as good as the vision. A picture can only tell part of the story. A newspaper writes the facts, or does it? A post on a blog... have I enticed you to comment and add your take on the whole family get-together. Wait, there is more. I had my head behind a camera for a good portion of the 3 days spent in some pretty high temperatures. I love taking pictures, I love not talking to anyone, I love not being in any pictures, I love nature? You decide which one is right. Or, maybe you have your own idea for me. Either way, the food was good. Thanks for the spagetti and pancakes, cobblers and eggs. My favorite day was golfing with the boys. I really like to see Charlie so happy with his cousins. He just loves being with them. So, thanks for making that possible for him. The rock painting was great, Marne's foot zoning was a definite 'high', and I had a blast riding bikes around the lake with Kyler and Charlie. The sunset from there was breathtaking. But did I have a camera? No. D.J. would have taken his, was all I could think. I was just excited to go and do something with somebody. I traded the camera for a bike. Go figure. I also really appreciate the fact that getting the family together is important enough for my brothers and sisters to want to come long distances to be with each other. I can honestly say that renting the motor home and watching all of you put up camp, then take down camp was nice. When you were fineally ready to go, we pushed a button to bring the bump-out back in, tied the bikes to the back, folded up our camp chairs and waved goodbye. No really, I had a great time. Mom and Dad, thanks. I will put the pictures into some kind of slide show and send them out in the near future. In the meantime, look at the slides and see if you can guess whose t-shirt belongs to who? Love you guys.

The Grasshopper!

He was small and cute, friendly and... can you really say a grasshopper is friendly? Tami chose his first name and Charlie decided on the middle name. Manchester? It just sounded right. I was just grateful the weeds were being pulled with happy hearts. The hopper didn't stay long. Tami decided to set it free an hour later, the cat decided to watch, Charlie decided to cry and the cat spat at it with her paw. I had a hard time convincing Charlie that the cat did not crush Philip Will Smith Manchester! He jumped into the cracks of the deck ... The whole affair was more than mom could take! It was a grasshopper, I think, for crying out loud. Now if it was a 'Cricket'.... well, that is a whole other story, place and person! (You have to know my neice's name to get that one :D )

Summer Party All the Time!

It has been a summer full of events. Jay and I purchased 4 wheelers to enjoy and that is just what we have done! When you have a family as big as mine, there is a never ending party [it seems] for birthdays and baptisms, temple dates and farewells, anniversaries and the out of towners. The latest party for Sophia, Justin's little 1 year old, was a swim party! It is always a good idea to take the party out of doors for our size. Check out the pictures and if you want any for your own use, just click on the slide show and it will take you to my web album where you can download the ones you want!

Fireworks from the Coast!

What better place to visit than a spectacular warzone for the fourth of July. This year the beach called us home. And she didn't let us down. July 4th was just as we remembered. Only this time, we put ourselves right down in the thick of it and built ourselves a bonfire. Every year, Long Beach, WA puts on a display of fireworks that draws its biggest crowd of the year. Even better, the beach is filled with spectators waiting for the big show by putting on their own show. All around us the fireworks were sent into the air and there we sat, stupid as ever, right down in the middle of it all. Charlie was amused. I kept wondering when I was going to get a firework shot in the back of my head, and Tommy (Jay's nephew) and Zach kept us entertained with our little (NOT!) batch of noise and light makers.

The pictures tell the rest of our vacation. We pulled the four wheelers with us because we wanted to make sure we only got 10 MPG (Yikes!) with gas prices shooting higher than the fireworks! Riding four wheelers in the rain was quite the experience. I gave up after one ride. The boys held out for another hour than we all packed it up and thought, "At least we got an ice cream from the Tillamook Factory out of it."

It was great to see our old stomping grounds. North Head Lighthouse, bumper cars and Jake the Alligator man. For those of you who visited us when we held fort on the beach, you may remember. Zach had to take a picture of the one plank in the tree that survived the enwowners renovations on our old property. The tree use to be a fort that Curt and he put long rainy and cold hours into building.

Lots of memories! And Charlie loved seeing what we were doing while he was waiting around for his turn on earth!

Prom Tonight!

Zachary and his friend Jordan took two girls of blue to the prom tonight. Amber was Zachary's date. They did not coordinate the dresses, the tuxedo's, however, were! And they looked extraordinary. Charlie had to be in the picture too! A good friend of the boys, Sis. Bates, cooked them a five course meal. She has done that for the boys when her son Stetson was involved, but kept the tradition alive for Zachary too! Now, Curtis and Stetson are on missions and it will be three years before Zach will see either Curt or Stetson because of the timing of his own mission. So for Zach, having Sis. Bates cook the meal was really special. You could tell he had memories of last years prom. When I went to take the boys pictures, Zach immediately said," With the shades, like my brother and me did last year." So off for the evening they went in a pretty nice Jaguar too, I might add.

We Love You Grandma Short

We just returned from Grandma Short's funeral held in Oregon. Jay lost his mother due to complications of MS. She was 85. As is often the case, we were all brought together under sad circumstances, with a reunion of joy. It had been as long as 10years (or longer),that we had spent time with many of Jay's nieces and nephews. In that respect, it was so very nice to reaquaint ourselves. Jay's sisters are angels and he has time and again expressed his love for them. They organized and dealt with all the funeral and death arrangements with grace. Jay so appreciates all that they have done to keep the family together, connected and informed. The funeral was beautiful. From the flowers to the words and music that were shared. It was just what June would have wanted and more. Charlie loves to be with his family; He met a few new cousins he can't wait to play with again! The day after the funeral, I was able to see my Grandma Green, who is 95 years young. She is just as beautiful as I remember her. I watched as Tamara and she talked and laughed, and I thought about being the same age, sitting on the couch while Grandma would ask me about all that I was doing. I will treasure that moment as well as the time spent with Rosemary, Allen and Jennifer. It was as easy as picking up from where we left off the last time we spoke. Families are Forever, and that was what Glenda decided to put on Grandma's tombstone. Perfect! Just perfect! All our love to Judy, Glenda, Mary, and Suzanne for being the best sisters Jay could ever hope for!

Happy Birthday!

Charlie is 6 years old and he says he still feels five. He can't figure out why that is? He took everyone who wanted to come bowling. Grandpa dominated the game. He was not to be reckoned with!! Sponge Bob hosted the party! So you can imagine what kind of crazy was going on! I am sure the manager was glad when we left! We really know how to throw a party! Thank you all for coming and making him feel special. Family is good for one thing - when there is cake and bowling, they will come! (Ha! Ha!)

Breaking Spring Fever!

The second day we've had 60+ degree weather in Ephraim and we take it to the max. It all started with my roommates chilling in the sun being bombarded by water balloons, into fighting water with chocolate pudding, mayonaise, pickle juice, ketchup, and mustard! Thankfully no one was hurt, though many went sliding down our stairway, and everyone pitched in to clean up the mess splattered from the inside of our apartment (top right) through the stairway, side walk, and into the boys apartment (behind the tall guy i the white shirt). Sorry, I didn't catch a picture of me splattered in pudding, but I promise I was very delectable!

The Annual Gibb Family Easter Egg Hunt

Wow! It is already Easter. Utah is cold this year. There are still snow days but that didn't stop the Easter Bunny or Grandpa and Grandma from having an egg hunt. This year, there were not quite as many little grandkids, yet we still had the same number of eggs, so the hunt was a huge feast for little mouths! Grandpa had built his own version of a teeter-totter, Audri brought her boyfriend home for all to meet, and Marne made the trip down from Brigham City, despite the age of her 'baby'! With Charlie's birthday so close, I thought we could sing him happy birthday with everyone already gathered, and it was actually Sam's birthday so we had two cakes. Chelsea made a butterfly cake decorated with M&M's and it was a huge success. She was home for Spring Break. I have to admit, easter egg hunts seem to bring out smiles in everyone.

The Karate Chop!

Charlie joined karate and after watching a few lessons, I decided to fulfill my life long dream and take karate lessons too! With no coaching at all, Tami joined with me. It may have something to do with the fact that our sensai is extremely hot, but either way, we are having fun. The first karate tournament turned out to be really fun. I didn't participate. I have not been feeling well after our Paris trip. I have had three different bacterial infections. I still have one and hope I will be feeling myself soon! But Tami and Charlie both competed in forms. They didn't take any trophy but it was a lot of fun to watch! Tami is now a yellow belt and is scheduled to test for orange. I missed the yellow belt test while I was in Paris. Enjoy the pictures on the right and the movie below. (The movie takes time to start, and then the first part of it he talks to the judges for a while. It is at the end of the movie that he does the blocking move.)

Spotlight

So I, Chelsea Dian Perrin, will be in one of the small performances for the theater majors who are taking directing classes. I'm a waitress with about 10 lines, but thankful for the small part. I'm not sure when I perform, having recieved the script only today because the person chosen for the role didn't show up for practice today, so my roommate said I could act, and brought the script home for me have if I wanted the role. I accepted and am excited to use more of my acting skills. Just thought I'd let y'all know. Keep praying for me to do well as my finals grow nearer and nearer. I could use the boost :D Luv luv luv!

A Week of Love in the City of Lights

I was a little apprehensive as we boarded the plane in NYC. Although I love to travel and visit new places, this one had me a bit frightened. How would we ever find our way to the hotel. I knew that if I could make it to the hotel, I would be Ok. Navigating my way around a city using the Metro or Subway was no problem, but trying to figure out where we were going, before we even knew where it was located, SCARED me. So, as we left the Plane and entered Europe, anxiety set in. But, as usual, Jay solved it real quick and we got a taxi. Straight to the address that he read off our reservation sheet! Bonjour Paris! The slide show to your right takes you through the sites that we saw. Notre Damn, The Louvre Museum, Champs Elysees, Arc De Triump, Eiffel Tower, the streets of Paris, our hotel and may other stops along the way. Enjoy. I am not sure what the best part of the trip was, maybe getting to be with Jay everyday, holding his hand and loving the place we were at. But, I could think of a favorite for every day. We would lay in bed at night, exhausted and talk about what amazed us most that tour. Then, without fail, Jay would fall asleep before me, snoring like a baby. He slept well. I am sure it was because of all the walking we did. We were both driven to sore feet and calves. The hotel was tiny and quaint with a medieval flair. As you ascended the spiral staircase to your room, a medieval knight greeted you in silver armour. I was routinely surprised by him - I had to laugh at myself, even though I knew he was going to be there. We had twin beds that scooted right up next to each other. We could hold hands! Every street corner looked just like the pictures in my mind. Corner cafe's, streets that come to a full circle, parks, old architecture from the Renaissance, and French people wearing high heeled shoes and black coats. We were in a nice part of town called the Latin Quarter. Shopping was abundant with the locals so we saw a good portion of normal, daily traffic in the city. We were close enough to walk to many of the hot spots for tourists and that allowed us to see the city up close. Jay enjoyed Crepes vendors on all street corners. Do I dare mention that we saw a dinner/dance show?! I took several pictures with Jay's head buried in the tour guide book. I would be looking around, enjoying the scenery and find him with his head down, reading about what we were seeing. He turned out to be a great narrator and I was great at navigating the subway and tour route. We made a great team. It was a dream come true. We were planning our next visit to Europe before we went to bed the last night we were there. Au revoir!

Ode to my sister

Tamara Sage has been a great blessing in my life. Many times she has known me better than I knew myself and has always put up with me as her older sister. Because of not only bing the youngest, but also because of my trials with cancer, she often got the butt-end of the stick. She took my hand-me-downs, the lesser amount of attention, and was still content in who she was. She was always set in her way of life and found countless ways to enjoy being by herself (which I've often been jealous of). We always faught, and I kept telling myslef that when she got to my age we wouldn't fight as much. I soon came to learn that her age had nothing to do with it, but that I would always be ahead 3 more years in experience and just needed to be patient with her trials in those stages of life...though I never really did a good job. We were constantly reminded by our mother that we were the only sister eachother had. Though we never liked hearing it, deep down inside we both knew it was true. We had our ways of putting behind the bad us, and my favorite would be our midnight talks in bed. Ideally we both would have loved our own rooms, but were more than grateful for the nights we had eachother to keep us company. Still, until I came to college I never fully appreciated the roomate, sister, and friend I've had for all these years and was grateful to have her as my shoulder to lean on, and eternal venting companion. :)

Farewell to Curtis!

Like many before our family have experienced, the road to sending a son on a misssion, is not always easy. I know with surity, Satan places diversity, temptations, and prays on our weaknesses to overturn and stop the work of Heavenly Father. Our family was no exception. We kept love at the top of our list of things to work on, prayed continually for the strength to overcome our mortal selves, and then pushed forward with determination to get Curtis where he needed to be. We have watched as Curtis took on the challenges that Bishop Casper gave him, and attended Missionary and Temple Prep classes every Sunday for a year. He has stepped up to what was asked of him and began to show every one of us what a converted member commits willingly to in their lives; Scripture study, service, and prayer. Every step along this road "has not been easy" but "it has been worth it!"

Spring Semester

So school has started once again. The first week of classes went by very slowly for my roommates and I, and I can tell the days are just going to get longer. I have a few favorite classes to get me through the week though. I'm even taking two music major classes (music theory and sight singing/ear training) and my teachers think I'm crazy taking them just because I want to. I suppose it's a bit unusual, but hey, I love music, I want to improve my skills, so it works. I'm also lovng my water aerobics class. Since I'm no track chick, and my joints keep deciding that gravity isn't fun when you exercise, water aerobics is just my thing and gets my heart pumping better than I thought possible. I'm also taking a mission prep class and that keeps me focused on my spiritual nourishment as well. Plus, there's a few cute guys in the class. All premi (pre mission), I know, but it's a fun little bonus. As for my health, we keep it in check with my 15 pills (5 pills perscription, 10 pills recommended to boost my immune system), and thankfully my sore throat was gone by the beginning of school, but alas all week I dealt with a measly cold. Oh, and Sunday I sang in sacrament meeting. I have the blessing of having my roommate as the music coordinator. :D So I volunteered to be our first Sunday back musical number (which releived her of lots of stress). Love u guys! Ciao.

Who wanted a 10 foot tree anyway?

I took the tree down last night. So what if its the 14th of January? I have heard of many families who leave their tree up through Valentine's day and decorate with hearts and bows and cupids; By choice! The kids were watching a movie, and I thought, "What the heck! I'll take apart the tree" It was a novel idea and I really forgot how long and daunting that task can be. Who wanted the 10 foot tree? NOT ME! O.k. me. And I do love it. But it took 2-1/2 hours to put away. That is just crazy.

Curtis is packed, almost, and ready, almost, for the MTC. Charlie is going to miss him. It is cute to hear him say, out of the blue and for no particular reason, "I am going to miss you Curtis." Curt has always been one to walk through the door and first thing, ask Charlie to give him a hug and tell him about his day. He will set his tools down and make a bug with the Creepy Crawler, build a quick skyscraper with the lego's, or engage himslef in whatever Charlie may be doing. Charlie knows that they are buds. One day, I walked into Charlie's room and saw a stickie note on his spider man poster in Curt's handwriting, "Curt and Charlie = buds 4ever."

Charlie was a bit distraut one day, trying to figure just how he was going to write a letter to Curtis. He clearly knew that he could not write the words himself. It was silent for just a second, then Dad said he could draw a... but before Jay could finish, Charlie's independent nature (I am sure he did not get that from me!) hollered, "I know. I was thinking my idea. I was thinking to draw him a picture. Don't tell me!"

The holidays were great for our family. The Christmas Party was held the first weekend in order to accomodate Jon and Jenny who were already up from St. George. Charlie loved acting out the story of Christ's birth. He was Joseph and took his role very seriously. Closer to Christmas, Chelsea, Dad and I had high fevers with very sore throats. Somehow, we were able to get out in the snow storm and ride the 4 wheelers around the neighborhood. Santa was generous. On Christmas Eve we opened our Pixie gifts. (We choose a name the first of the month and do nice things for that person, in secret, then buy or make a gift especially for them.) Charlie wanted to bake cookies for Santa, so I used Grandma's secret Painted Mexican Cookies recipe and told Charlie that the bottle of secret potion, (Almond Extract), makes Santa Drunk. We had a great laugh and now he knows Grandma's secret recipe! Then, we sang songs of Charlie's choosing and played a game that Charlie made up - everyone draws a picture and then chooses who picture is the best. Of course, Charlie's! He wrote the nicest letter to Santa, reminding Santa that Curt was leaving for a mission and to bring extra nice things. He told Santa that Tamara is his bestest sister and Chelsea is his favorite. He asked for no one to be mad and then he said the cookies will make you drunk so eat them all! It was a night to remeber what being young is all about.

We especially loved seeing Spencer and Ilah and their family. It had been awhile since our last visit. The New Years party was held at Jeff and Lynelle's. We listened to Grandma and Grandpa duet "Poison" with Sing Star. Now that was a good laugh!! Zachary ended our holiday break with his Eagle Court of Honor.

Although the year has brought plenty of trials and learning, I know we all feel greatful to have each other to lean on for love and understanding. If not for that, it is always nice to have help when it is time to shovel the snow off the walk and driveway!