A Laugh for the Day

Kids contemplate marriage.

How would you make your marriage work?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
Ricky, age 10

How can a stranger tell if two people are married?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
Derrick, age 8

What do you think your mom and dad have in common?
Both don’t want any more kids.
Lori, age 8

What do most people do on a date?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.Lynnette, age 8 (isn’t she a treasure?)
On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
Martin, age 10

What would you do on a first date that was turning sour?
I’d run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
Craig, age 9

When is it okay to kiss someone?
When they’re rich.
Pam, age 7
The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn’t want to mess with that.
Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It’s the right thing to do.
Howard, age 8

What is the right age to get married?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
Camille, age 10

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.
Freddie, age 6 (very wise for his age)

Is it better to be single or married?I don’t know which is better, but I’ll tell you one thing. I’m never going to have sex with my wife. I don’t want to be all grossed out.
Theodore, age 8

It’s better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

 How do you decide whom to marry?
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they’re going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you’re stuck with.
Kristen, age 10


Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22077/35341-decide-marry-kids/2#ixzz1abSdcteo

6-month check-up

September 12 marked our 6 month anniversary! Can you believe how time is just FLYING by?! I sure can't! We spent our un-anniversary with a trip to Costco for grocery shopping, followed by a pizza dinner with Keith's BFF Jesse, then basketball (for the boys) at Bethel while Lily and I went running. Romantic huh? We did however get to sunggle up on the couch and watch a movie.

September also marks the fact that I still have NOT met the whole Manis family. Aunt Geri came into town (Dayton) from Las Vegas. So we took a nice LONG, HOT road trip to visit. Upon arrival at Grandpa Manis's, I met Aunt Geri from Las Vegas and some cousins from Kennewick that I still have somehow never met. Then we all mobbed to the park for some good family fun, i.e. Stuff Your Face Time (: At the park we were greeted by more aunts, uncles and cousins I have never seen before.And then it was face stuffing time. We talked with family for a while, then Keith Lily and I went for a walk around the park. We ended up at some stream thing and while Lily tried to swim in the ever so shallow water, Keith was looking under rocks for some weird worm bug nasty things (boys and their entertainment). When we got back up to the park, it was time to go back home. So we made the LONG, HOT road trip back home. I didn't get any pictures of this lovely day, though I wish I had.

All around September really hasn't been too eventful. We celebrated Derick's 26th birthday. We'll be celebrating Mom's (29th, again) birthday Tuesday with the daughters, then next Sunday with everyone. The rest of our free time is made up of working, eating, talking about working out and sleeping. What a life! (:

Are YOU out of the loop?

Recap on our past months: I'm really bad at this whole blogging thing.

So April, we were living at Grandma and Grandpas. We finally moved all into our new place and LOVEE it! Konner was gone most of June and July, but we got him back JUST in time for Twin Lakes. I forgot to mention, before Twin Lakes we were able to go to Pullman and visit with the Gosney's for Peyton's birthday! We had a blast! Ate some delicious jello cake, drew on the sidewalk with chalk, and watched Lily and Titan play forever! We really enjoyed our stay. From Pullman, we drove to the lake! And boy did we have a blast there also! Keith almost got up on 1 ski. But after about the 6th try, he was too mad to move. We spent most of our days cooped inside because of the awful weather. Sunny Sunday (of course), rainy Monday, cloudy/rainy Tuesday, sunny/cloudy/rainy/sunny/rainy/cloudy Wednesday, and by Thursday weather was GREAT! Sunny for the rest of our stay. Our annual volleyball tournament was Friday. Keith, Derick, Trenton and I are champs (: After volleyball it was time for Keith and I to say goodbye to all the family from ALL over the U.S. and head on back home to Tri Town. Not before we stopped to say hello to our good friend Edna! Loveeeee their food and milkshakes! Once we got home it was back to work for Keith, and hello new jobs for me.

August has been good to us also. I've been working at the Hilton Garden Inn and Abercromie & Fitch since the 1st basically. I'm enjoying being able to work, but not loving how behind on cleaning I am getting. It gets harder and harder to figure out which days to do laundry and forget about finding time to clean up all our messes. And I'm sure Lily doesn't like being home alone all day cooped up in her kennel. But we gotta do what we gotta do! And let me tell you.. Work is exhausting! But it will all be worth it on payday! (:

New Beginnings

Recently, Kayla and Derick got married. (18th of June). Love, love, LOVE having another sister! As if 2 weren't enough. But we are finally catching up to the boys (there's 5 of them). We have very much been enjoying our summer of relaxation, well my summer is at least relaxing, Keith's got a little bit more so after loosing the airport job.
A week before Hoopfest we got a call from The Village at Grandridge Apartments and they had availability! After looking and praying we decided to get it. And boy has being on our own wonderful! We finally are able to use all our cool kitchen things I've been dying to use and I've been a good housewife and been making dinner! Easy dinners of course like chicken and rice, grilled cheese, things like that. If you have any other dinner ideas let me know!
Hoopfest weekend was great! We got to spend time with Kyra, Jake and the kids. We took Trenton with us. It wasn't half bad. I got burnt like a lobster, and the boys finally won a game! Talk about exciting. 3 years of never winning a game, and they finally win one. Kyra and I worked on a 1000 piece puzzle and we were able to get a lot of it done the first couple days we were there.
The Friday after Hoopfest (July 1st) we moved into our new apartment. While Keith was at work, my sister, sisters-in-law and mother-in-law moved in all the boxes full of kitchen stuff, clothes, shoes, bathroom stuff, ect. We set up the kitchen and they were on their way. When Keith got off, Trenton and Daniel and Keith moved up the entertainment center, couches, TV and all the other big things we had. The next day, I spent putting things away that I could, organizing, re-organinzing and doing anything I could to keep me busy. When Keith got off, it was shopping day time all the things we needed like cleaning stuff, lamps, trash bags, food, and all the other good and helpful things we need. We got Leonardi's pizza for our first dinner at our new apartment. I washed and put away all the dishes I could and then it was bedtime.
Sunday we woke up and went to church at our new ward. After that, I made cookies, we had visitors and we headed to the Myers for a BBQ. The BBQ was delicious and very filling! After the BBQ we went to the Manis's for card games and visiting (Kyra and the kids were in town for the 4th).
Monday morning we made our first real meal and breakfast. We made french toast, bacon and eggs. We headed to Hermiston for the 4th and hung out with Bo and Holly. We played softball and badmitton, ate delicious food and enjoyed all the company! After the wonderful firework show, we headed home.
It was back to work Tuesday for Keith, and boredom for Lily and I. I did wash all the towels and clothes at the laundry mat here. Cost about $5. Never doing that again! Not all the clothes got dry so we probably looked like white trash with all the clothes hanging out on the back balcony. We did get NetFlix again so life home isn't completely boring. Keith and I are addicted to The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I'm in love with Drop Dead Diva, and catching up on Glee. Yes, I'm a Gleek (;
Job status, currently waiting on the Hilton Garden Inn to call me about a job. Corporate has to get back to them about things, so everyone is stuck just waiting. Keith is only working at Metal Fab. Which is really good for him. He's getting A LOT more sleep and is overall just happier.
Twin Lakes is coming up soon. CANNOT wait! Sunshine, boating, volleyball and family. There's nothing better! Keith and I are camping it in the front of Mom's cabin. And Konner will finally be back. Oh yea, Konner left the 19th of June to stay in Maryland with Kenny (his biological father) and won't be back until the first day of Twin Lakes (July 23). Wayyyy to long for that cute little guy to be gone! 
Well that's life now! And it's only getting better! (:

Catching up with the Manis'

So, since the last time I wrote was over a month ago, let's update you all. We've been quite busy with vacation type of trips and working. To start, I didn't get the Dental Office job of my dreams, but they are planning on expanding in a couple months. All I can do is hope and pray they will call for that! Keith's still working like crazy. Poor guy, I swear he hardly sleeps. Today was my last day subbing in the Life Skills room at Highlands. It's sad to go but, hello summer!
Keith and I were able to go to Oregon for Tyson and Kelsie's graduation party. While everyone in the house was either working or going to school, Keith and I were able to spend the day in Portland. We took the Tram to the mall, and the zoo. We got lost a little bit but luckily found nice enough ( and normal enough ) people to help us out. (You'd be surprised at the people you meet on a free type of bus.) At the mall we shopped for Tyson's graduation gift and my birthday shopping. We got to go into most of my favorite stores and shop TAX FREE! Gosh how I love that! After the mall we went to 5th Ave and spent a little bit of time in the "ritsy mall" with Juicy, Nine West, Gucci and other overly priced stores :) After 5th Ave we took the Tram to the Oregon Zoo, (there are pictures on FB). We had a blast there! We were able to see most of the animals, sadly not the lions, we couldn't find them, and take a ton of pictures. We bought some delicious fudge from the gift store and then went back to Aunt Marie's. She had made "pounds of food" for the graduation party, and let's just say, I'm sure we all gained about 45 pounds. Or maybe that was just me... (:
After our 3 day trip in Portland we headed back home. Upon arrival, I sent Keith to pickup the car while I waited for the checked baggage. Once I got the bag I went outside to see Keith nowhere in sight. Well I was pretty sure it didn't take 20 minutes to walk to the staff parking lot and get the car so I gave him a ring. Come to find out, the car wouldn't start. We called mom to come try and jump it, interrupting her from her nap, and because she is a fantastic woman, she crawled out of bed and came to the rescue. Sadly, a jump was not what we needed. About 30 minutes later and a couple arguments, we called the tow truck. Towed our car to our mechanic and had Grandpa come get us. (What amazing family we have BTW. Always willing to help us in tough situations).
So we went back home and started to pack for the camping trip we were leaving on in about 3 hours. Nicole and Curtis came and got us, we made some last minute stops and off we were on our next adventure. We only got kind of lost on the way up there. We had a ton of fun at Camp Zarahemla. Canoeing, biking, attempting to start fires, making s'mores and just being outdoors. Nights were absolutely freezing, but luckily, my husband is an incubator. The boys explored everything, Nicole and I stayed at camp and did what girls do. We decided 3 days of camping was good enough, partly because we needed to make it home in time for church and partly because we only had junk food left. (Chips and cheese balls aren't exactly the best breakfast, lunch and dinner foods.) So Saturday morning we headed back to Tri-Town, but not before we hit up Miner's. And can I say it was delightfully delicious?!
When we got home, stopped by the mechanic, after calling him and finding out our car started right after we left, and everyday after that, and picked up our car. We had also talked to mom and found out while we were gone, Lily, our dog, had ran around town for about 3 hours, and scratched up the carpet on the stairs. Darn that dog for putting our poor sister and her mother-in-law through all that chasing around. Lily eventually ran home and acted like nothing happened. She's a stinker.
More recently, I shopped like a maniac today at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I bought a vacuum, a blender/grinder, laundry baskets, a batter dispenser and some travel mugs for less that $150 thanks to their bridal close out thing.
Keith and I are still looking for a place to put all this nice stuff to use. I know we will eventually find one, but it can't come soon enough! We absolutely LOVE staying with Grandma and Grandpa, but as everyone knows, living completely on your own is way different, even if we hardly ever see them!
I was able to play cards with Grandma and, yes, even Grandpa played! The three of us played Skip-O, and Grandpa kicked our bums. He's so deceiving! (:
This month will also be a busy month, with Father's day, Dad's birthday, Derick and Kayla's wedding, and hoopfest, we will surely be busy again. On top of that, we only have about 2-3 more pages of Thank Yous to do. My goal was to have them done by Shayla's wedding, but that's about 2 weeks overdue! Next goal, done by the month of June! We can do this!
That's our past month in a nutshell. We hope you all enjoy our crazy life!

Blessings and More

This week has been quite crazy I'd have to say. All our hard work is paying off.

I lost my job at Gold's Gym. It's sad to say goodbye to our free gym membership, but we are over it. Grandma and Grandpa have a treadmill and a bike in the basement, plus the weather is hopefully, kind of, getting better, and Keith brought his weight set from home, so we are set! Plus, I got the opportunity to work, possibly for the rest of the school year, at Highlands Middle School in the Life Skills classroom. I was offered this position on Tuesday of this week and it has been a TON of fun! The kids are super sweet and hilarious and are so growing on me. I will miss them when I have to leave. Also, it's been teacher appreciation week. HELLO FREE LUNCHES (: Tuesday was potluck day with soups and salads and all sorts of goodies, Wednesday was leftovers, Thursday was Cinco De Mayo with beans and rice and some sort of spicy food for tortillas, chips and salsa and today was subs with a tons of ham and turkey some more goodies and chips. Besides the fact that I'm almost 19 and am sometimes confused as being a student there and if you don't think about all the weight I'll gain, losing my job at Golds wasn't so bad after all.

On the other hand, my poor Keith has been working like a crazy man. 4-7 at the airport Monday-Friday then 8-4 or 6 at MetalFab right after that. Luckily the new bid started and he will only have to work 3 days at the airport. But Fridays will KILL. 4-7 airport, 8-4 or 6 MetalFab, then back to the airport at 10-1 for a double. Income is nice though. And tithing blessings are even better. 

We got a check from FedEx yesterday for reimbursement from school last quarter that I'm sure we wouldn't have known if it never came. But we are so happy it did! And even though right now tithing isn't something we struggle with, I'm sure later in life, if we have any doubts, we can look back at this incident and know what we have to do.

As I'm sure you all know, Keith and I are sports fanatics. We have plenty of events for anyone to come watch. Softball just started for my sister and I. Church league out at the Trac in Pasco. Don't mean to brag or anything, but our team basically dominates. Keith has been playing basketball at the Tri-City Court Club on Mondays or Wednesdays. So anytime you feel like working on your tan, or watching an exciting game of basketball, just let us know! :)

We haven't heard back from the Dental Office, and I'm getting more anxious each day! But we will see. I'm still applying places so, hopefully, come summertime I will have a job and not be a summer bum.

Turning Point

As you know, job hunting is a pain. KSD has been slowing down a LOT since the school year is ending, which means less work for me. And working weekends at Gold's and part time at the airport doesn't get us enough to pay for anything but gas and other bills. So Keith and I have been on the search for better, more reliable jobs for the past few weeks. We prayed and prayed to find something, either here or in Spokane. (Matt and Leslie wanted us to come stay with them in their new house. Which would have been nice getting out of Tri-Cities and starting fresh elsewhere. But jobs there are scarce. So we prayed to see if moving was meant for us. And well, we got our answer..

Yesterday morning Keith came home from work at the airport and told me, "Babe. I am going to get a job today. I just have a feeling I will." I said, "I hope you do!" rolled over and went back to sleep. But sure enough, about 5 hours later, Keith gets a text from his brother-in-law, Luke, asking if he was still interested in a job at Metalfab. A guy just got fired and they were moving one of the yard workers into the shop to weld. Keith said yes, drove down to Metalfab, and filled out an application. They told him they would call in about 2-3 days. That same day they called and told him to come in tomorrow!

Me on the other hand. I've been looking online, sending my resume to everyone, and might get a job. I applied to be a receptionist at a dental office. After doing so Keith and I went over to the Manis's to see Lily and Renea was on the phone. She asks me if I applied at a dental office. I told her yea right before we came here. Well they just called me and asked if there was any relation to a Marissa Manis and I told them, Yes she just married my son. The dentist knows Bob. Small world huh? So I'm here waiting for a call that will hopefully come in 1-2 weeks. Can't wait!

On a less happy note, I got a speeding ticket. Who knew anyone was awake at 6 in the morning? Driving to Gold's last Saturday, I admit I was going a little to fast (10 over). I was looking all around for cops to make sure I didn't get pulled over, but that plan fell through as soon as those little motorcycle guys get on the road. Anyways, I was minding my own business, driving 70 (although I'm almost positive I was going 75, but we can just let that slide) in a 60, when I see this motorcycle come speeding behind me. Being the smart lady I am, I pushed the car into neutral, because that motorcycle was NOT there before. Sure enough its a little copper. Well I rolled down my window, waited, realized he was at the other window, so I rolled down the passenger window and talked to the guy. Told him I can't find my insurance because I just got married and I'm not exactly sure where my husband put it, he said it was fine took my license and registration to his motorcycle, wrote me a ticket for 5 over to save me a little money, very thoughtful of him. Showed him my insurance and went off on my way. I was so grateful for him, I wasn't even that mad!

Happy note again, I got a bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding. Shayla is getting married May 28! Another happy note, Derick's now fiancée got a wedding dress, they are getting married June 17! Talk about lucky parents! 3 weddings in 1 year and in less than 6 months. Good grief! (:

And talk about being busy. Those 2 have had less time than anyone I know. On top of working, and planning 3 weddings, they also had the opportunity to participate in Savior of the World. Keith and I were privileged enough to go see in the last night, also being the day before Easter. It was the most spiritual, touching show I have ever witnessed. I cried, through about half of it. Good cries of course. Before the show I was also able to write a little note to my cousins Brendan who is in New Jersey on his Spanish speaking mission.

So obviously life has been amazing so far for Mr. Manis and I, minus the few upsetting parts. But when life gets you down, you know what you got to do?.. Just keep swimming (;