The Guinea pig

I was lucky enough to be the first born in my family. I carried the usual responsibilities of being the oldest and wisest(wink). I actually was pretty hard on myself growing up. I had to be the perfect child. I had to be a good example to my younger siblings. I about died when my dad told me one time he was" disappointed in me". It broke my heart to know at that moment, I was not the perfect child I had worked hard to be. I never lied( I'm a horrible liar. I usually don't make eye contact or bust up laughing. My mom could instantly tell if I was fibbing or not). I never snuck out. I never put myself in uncomfortable positions or went to parties where inappropriate activities were happening. And if they were I was out of there faster than lightning. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn or anything, I simply was afraid of what might happen if I were to do any of those things. Occasionally my Dad and I would have huge fights over how I thought his rules were totally unfair and he must hate me or not trust me.

The group of girls I hung around during my growing up years were ALL the youngest child. I'm so serious when I say this. Until 7th grade I was the only Oldest child among my friends. Their parents were older and more tired so they could get away with ANYTHING. They always got to stay out later, They always got to do sleepovers, etc. Once we hit 7th grade we added more girls to our "Group" and guess what... the only other girl who wasn't the youngest was the ONLY child in her family. What gives? My little group of friends always called me "the mother". If we went out to eat I was the one who got everyone napkins and silverware. I almost always the last one to sit down because I was making sure everyone had everything they needed. Growing up I would constantly tell my parents that one day they would just give in and be tired and let my younger siblings do Whatever they wanted. They always assured me this would NEVER happen and they would ALWAYS be strict. Well I am here to tell you.... BLEH! They are big fat liars(love you M &D). There is 10 years between me and my youngest sibling Kaytlyn. Kaytlyn is 14 and a big 9th grader this year. Weston, my next to last sibling, is almost 18 and a big senior and Kyle, the sibling right under me is by far the smartest child in the family and the oldest boy and on a mission. Lets just get down to the nitty gritty. Lets look at the difference between my rules as a teenager and their rules as teenagers. Now there are similarities. Not a ton. With each child it seems to be a little different.

Whitney: Curfew at 11 until graduated high school , moved out, moved back home, then it was midnight. Not allowed to have boyfriends. Shared a cell phone with my mother until I was 18 years old. Not allowed sleepovers unless HUMONGOUS special occasions and weeks of begging and preparing my mother. Not allowed anything lower then a "B" in any class( one time I had a C in a class at the end of a quarter and I got the 'Deering's don't get C's lecture from my parents'). Must Honor in Seminary. Not allowed to miss school unless the rug by the toilet was my bed the previous evening. Bribed by my mother to wait to kiss until I was 16( I almost made this one. Stinking Thatcher C. with no cartilage in his nose). Shared a room with my 10 year younger sister until 18. Not allowed to drive home alone EVER at night. Mom waited up in the recliner until I got home. You get my drift?

Unfortunately Kyle was held to the same standards. My parents were Young then too. Although Kyle got a cell phone at 16 and was allowed to exclusively date a girl in high school. Like I said earlier Kyle is the smartest. He could seriously never open a book and get and A + in all classes. The little twerp. Him and Weston shared a room until I moved out and got married 4 years ago then Kyle took over my room downstairs after My mom asked Zach for advice on how to get the boys to get along better. Zach told her they needed their own rooms. That seemed to help him and his brother. Almost instantaneously Kyle was moved downstairs and they had their own rooms.

Lets get to Weston. This one is going to kill you.

Weston: also known as " the difficult one". My mom constantly says Weston is the most like her. Apparently she lived life on the edge growing up and was the difficult one in her family too. She "gets" him. Weston has a curfew at 11. Sometimes. Has had more girlfriends then anyone has fingers and toes. Does not have to honor Seminary. Parents are hoping he just goes( Disclaimer: this year he is REALLY enjoying seminary. For serious) Missed 1st hour this morning because he was not mentally prepared for his Spanish Quiz, parents agreed it was best if he stay home too and eat eggs and toast instead. Cell Phone: 14. Misses school for just about anything. Gets a pat on the back for a "C" in classes. Mom now waits in her bed or on the couch. Gets away with murder( not really).

Kaytlyn: held to same standards as Whitney And Kyle, Kind of. Kind of an overachiever. Cell Phone:12. As a 14 year old curfew 10:30. Only a half hour earlier than older siblings. Hardly does any household chores unless threatened to lose her life. Floats about life without a care in the world. Granted she is only 14. I cant wait to watch as she gets older.

I find this all very comical and dont take ANY of this serious at all. And I hope no one else does either. Truly I have amazing Parents. They would do anything for me and have given me everything in the whole world. They have taught me so many things and almost everyday I find myself doing this just how they would. I must say it was hard being the Guinea pig but it has truly shaped me for the person I am today. I find it funny to see how things have changed. Dont worry I'll keep reminding them how HORRIBLE( wink) I had it.

The Vancecrapp Family Singers

Zach informed me tonight as we were driving home from a birthday party at Sonic that if our children had his singing voice we would be called the Vancecrap Family Singers. At first I looked at him in shock that he would 1. think I should be involved in this group because I kinda think I have a good voice and 2. He really doesnt have a bad singing voice. Just an untrained one. So as we proceeded to singing our rendition of Weezers "Undone" it became very apparent that we are going to take the world by storm. We're totally amazing. Presley sings like an angel. It seriously is the sweetest singing voice ever. I love it. Of course her singing can only be understood by those who speak Japanese but sometimes I can pick out a few words that might be in the English Language. We sing the Sleeping Beauty song almost everyday and she twirls around and says over and over "I know". Or for rock-a -by baby the only words understood is "Rock" and my all time favorite is when "Ashes, Ashes" gets put in with other songs from Ring around the Rosies followed by her bum hitting the ground and really loud "DOWN." My only problem is having the desire to have 6 other children to add to our Vancecrapp Family Singers so we can be just like the Von Trapps.

(proof she can sing)

I keep getting the question,"So when are you going to have another one?" My reply," not today." My job is hard and I only have 1. Think how much harder it will be with another one. And dont even get me started on the whole Pregnancy part with an 18 month old. I mean come on. That part is what scares me the most. This time I know whats coming. I know that for 18 weeks I will be hovering over a toilet. I know that Im going to be relying on a lot of people. Im more terrified to get pregnant a second time then I was the first and believe me I was kinda freaking out. I couldnt even say we were trying to get pregnant. Sometimes I dont even feel qualified enough to have a child in the first place. So my dear friends, one day I will have another baby. That day is not today and it is not tomorrow. Someday though. Someday.

In the meantime lets just admire the one I have. She can surely be a handful but she is too stinking cute and quite the social butterfly. She waves to almost everyone that passes or leaves in their car. Tonight as we were leaving Sonic she waved to almost everybody and yelled "Bye". I truly love this little munchkin. Im pretty glad she gets to apart of our little group.

( She insisted on wearing 2 of my shirts with her outfit the other day. She seriously would not let me take them off her)

No Bubbles, it No Work!

I Like bubbles. I like when my soap produces TONS of bubbles and if it doesnt... Then it's not doing its job. Maybe this has something to do with being totally Anal Retentive but I have literally stopped using shampoo after the first time when it doesnt give me enough bubbles. Last night as I was brushing my teeth with my new toothpaste Crest® Pro-Health and I was just blown away by how many bubbles it was producing. I felt like my mouth was getting even more clean. I started to assess my bubble making soaps. From head to toe, hands down I have the best bubble producing soaps out there.

1. I LOVE this face wash. I was out of my foaming facewash and EVERYWHERE I went to get more,it was out. I tried using the same kind but in the regular non foaming version and it just wasnt doing its job. It was taking extra long for my makeup to come off. So I searched even harder and I found the foaming facewash. Woot Woot!

2. Hello! Amazing! Since Zach and I have been married I kind of just started using his toothpaste. His does the job well my friends but when I decided to try this Kind. Hello! My mouth was foaming like crazy when I was brushing and it felt SO good. I could totally tell a difference. SO much cleaner.

3. This body wash Smells so good and it bubbles even better. It makes my skin glow.


4. I switch my shampoo all the time. But when I found this I was kinda hooked. 5. Bath and Body can be pretty expensive when you are trying to get soap for your whole house. Luckily, I live close Arizona Mills which has the outlet to Bath and Body works , so these babies are SO cheap. Seriously. I get them for like $3 as opposed to $10 each .

Lamb Of God

Rob Gardner is going straight to the Celestial Kingdom. He is adding the new "Lamb of God" to his wonderful musical presentations which include "Price of Freedom" and" Joseph Smith the Prophet". Ive been able to preview some of the music and no words can descibe how amazing it is. The "Lamb of God" is about the last week of Christs life. If you have not bought tickets, do so immediately! It will be at Gammage auditorium on September 10 and 11. You can purchase your tickets here.

Hubba Hubba

Im a little late on Posting this but better late then never. You see our computer broke and we have been without any contact through computer with mankind for about a week. That is until I secretly stole my moms laptop without asking her because she had just left and I was carrying 25 bags as well as Presley to my car and the last thing I wanted to do was put everything down and call and ask. So I just took it. Swiped it right from the side of her bed. My mom has probably used this laptop 2 times in the last 4 years. So I know it wont be missed and if it would make you all feel better I will ask her tomorrow if it is okay If I keep it until our computer comes back from the shop. Okey dokey?

Anyways back to "THE" post. My friends, Zach and I, along with our Parents, would like to announce that we have been married for 4 years. Four glorious, fun filled, amazing years(as my father says every year him and my mother have been married).

(awe, arent we cute?)
(Connie I some how sorta stole this from your photo blog. Please dont hate me. Remember Im computer less, I cant find my CD and apparently a pathological thief as of late)

Its true and we celebrated it just like any other person who is madly in love did. We grilled up some porkchops and rented a redbox. Our Anniversary was the day before school started here in Tempe/ Mesa town so the odds of finding a sitter were slim to none and it just so happened my mother had a prior engagement and Zach and I are PARTAY animals so we probably wouldnt have even come home for hours upon hours. It was perfect though. Zach, Presley and myself. Zach and I have certainly accomplished a lot in 4 years and I cant wait to see what the future has in store for us.

In honor of our anniversary let me tell you "our" story.

July 2o05, I had recently graduated highschool and was attending game night with my cousin and her friends. I felt COMPLETELY out of place because some of these people were older then I was and I thought for sure they would look down at my for being a measly 18 year old who just broke out of highschool. We had gathered in the Burnham's house and were waiting on a few more people so we could start our usual game of Signs when in walks Zach. I took one look at him and seriously started sweating profusely. He was tall, dark and handsome. Not really the type I had gone for in the past but ever so good looking. Im pretty sure he didnt even talk to me. I just played the gamed in fear hoping he wouldnt sit beside me or ask me a question where I would probably make a complete idiot out of my self. By pure miracle I ended up sitting next to him during the game. We talked a little but it was more him telling me how I looked so much like this girl he knew and how he needed to take a picture of us together so he could send it to her. After that night I probably saw Zach 2 more times. I moved out of my parents briefly and kinda stopped going to game night because there was this other guy and we had started hanging out at the house I was living in with my cousin who was technically his friend. You know whats even better is I cannot even remember this guys name for the life of me.

Well fast forward to October 31 2005- I was dressed as a pirate and headed to the YSA Halloween dance at the Wright House and was meeting this "other" guy there. I danced with friends and was having tons of fun when Zach totally catches me eye. He came up to me and we talked for awhile and that was it. As the Dance was winding down and I was about to head to my car Zach comes running up to me and asked if he could have my number for a date sometime. I told him our course and started giving it to him when he said he had actually already got it from a friend of ours and had hoped that was okay. A few days later Zach called to ask me on a date. I nervously replied yes. That weekend we went on our first date. The anticipation of him coming to pick me up was more than I could bare. I was literally laying on my bedroom floor with the fan blasted while sipping cold water in the middle of November. I was SOOO nervous. I almost threw up. After he picked me up we headed to Collins house and did an activity where you were given certain items and you had to make up a song about them. Well we got a turtle and some other things and we came up with new words to "Part of Your World" from the little mermaid. It was so much fun and totally out of Zach's comfort zone. He will never fess up to being musical. After that date Zach and I saw each other everyday until we got married 9 months later.

Now 4 years later he still gives me butterflies. I get so excited for him to come home. I love being around him. He is absolutely amazing. He is a wonderful dad and Presley just adores him. He is so funny and keeps us always laughing. I love him so much and I am so grateful to have him in my life for always and forever.

Glitz and Glam

Presley is all about accessorizing these days. She loves getting into my bathroom drawers and pulling out headbands and hair ties to accessorize herself with. Her latest obsession is shoes. Just like hers mama. Im proud to pass on such a deep love for shoes. The only problem is I like to buy them and she likes to wear them all the time!! It doesnt matter if they are hers, mine or Zachs. Shoes are her friends.

Here are a few vidoes of our little Miss. She totally has a mullet right now but I cant convince myself to cut it off cause she usually wears her hair in pig tails. She is trying really hard to master walking in high heels and this morning Zach took the last video cause he was so impressed with her head bobbing, Night at the Rocksberry moves. Get it girl!

Heat Wave

I have tried to start a post like 27 times but everytime I somehow get distracted with other things. Like right now, Im eating a Mint Dilly bar from DQ and My multi-tasking is struggling. We are barely alive right now. Not because of illness but because we live in a small place called the Heater. Today is a measly 113 degrees with what seems like 50% humidity. I have yet to see a drop of precipitation coming from the sky. Monsoon season My foot. Speaking of humidity. My mom has been wanting to sit in the steam room at the gym for a few days but what really sealed the deal for her was that you burn 300 and something calories in just 20 minutes. I didnt think it would be that bad until I sat down and after 30 seconds steam was blowing all over my body and it smelled like dead body. I stuck it out for 2 minutes folks. 2 minutes. In that time I calculated that I burned about a half a calorie and will never be entering the Steam room again. The steam part, I might be able to handle but dead body stench and I dont really mix well.

ANYWAYS... Presley and I have tried to stay cool as best as possible. She roams in mostly a diaper and I roam in mostly my underwear. We live close to AZ Mills so we go over to Rainforest Cafe and look at the fishys and eat Dippin Dots once a week because I cant bring myself to purchase an $18 ticket to the Aquarium at AZ mills for what I know will be an hour tops. We hang out at the pool almost everyday. We share popsicles, ice cream and cold water bottles. I make weekly runs to DQ and when I say runs I really mean purchase half of DQ, bring it home, stick it in the freezer and eat it throughout the week. Well that is unless your husband consumes it in about 24 hours and leaves you high and dry. Oh who am I kidding, I ate 5 out of the 6 dilly bars last week plus my vanilla cone covered in crunch coat and my Medium oreo blizzard. I have a slight problem. I have consumed more then my weight in ice cream in the last few weeks. I dont feel to bad because Im working my butt off everyday at the gym. So GET IN MY BELLAY!

Zach has recently informed me he will NOT, I repeat, WILL NOT be purchasing a home in Arizona. His suggestion was to move to the Andes Mountains and become Alpaca farmers. The Andes Mountains average climate is 64 degrees Farenheit. Some locations colder some warmer. I told him to be safe and dont forget to write often.

Other that avoiding heat stroke we are all doing fine. Presley has a mother again now that Musical theater Summer camp is over. She is quite the little terror at the gym by stealing crayons from the older kids and stealing all the kids identification stickers off their backs and putting them on herself. Her favorite word is No. Crazy I know. She loves twirling like a ballerina and her new favorite thing is Ring Around the Rosies. She sings Rock A By Baby to her dollies and kisses them. She knows what a cow, dog, chicken, bird, kitty, Duck, Horse and tiger says. She will carry on full conversations for about 10 minutes with you and you will only understand maybe 10 words total. She LOVES her grandpas. As soon as we pull up to my parents she asks for Grandpa even if he isnt there. She will point to his hummer when he has the mustang and wave and yell Bampa! She child eats every second of everyday unless she is asleep. My daily task is finding something for her to eat all the time preferably healthy. She is my little mini me and follows me around all day. She is into anything and everything. She runs away when I try to get her dressed, change her bum, brush her teeth, and just about anything else she doesnt want to do. She is so stinking cute though. And its a good thing too.