Richardsfest 2013

The Richards are a generous bunch and actually have to book time at their own cabin because they let so many other people use it. This year they blacked out a week and invited their kids to spend it at Lake Coeur d'Alene together. Manda wasn't able to make it, thanks to an adorable newborn, and we missed her sweet, little family. We hadn't spent any decent time at the lake since 2009, so we jumped at the chance.

Every time we fly with Teagan I panic for weeks, anticipating a nightmare. I once again raided Dollar Tree and scored some sweet deals - puzzles and candy and books, oh my! And every time we fly she is absolutely fantastic. She makes me proud...for the most part. The episode where she was totally cool, calm and collected until the second we boarded with family boarding and had to parade her kicking and screaming in front of everyone we were about fly with, surely giving them the impression that she was going to be a monster and making them loath us immediately? I've had prouder moments.

I did something I haven't done in ages: check out multiple books from the library with the intent to read them. I read a little. Sort of hard to do when you have a view as magnificent as the one we had...and a toddler. That makes everything hard. The irony here is that I borrowed a book on time management and tried to read it on holiday. I didn't get very many pages in (a: because of the gorgeous view, b: because I fell asleep for an hour and c: because I don't think I have enough in common with the author to take much of her advice to heart - ie. she has a full-time job, takes her kids to daycare and claims that stay-at-home mums only really interact with their kids for less than an hour a day. The only time I really have to myself in a day I spend in the bathroom, and if I don't have the company of my 2 year old, she's pounding on the door for me to let her in. Less than an hour, my foot.)

Another of my favourite views included me standing on the deck (or better yet, sitting with my feet up and eyes closed in one of the Lazy Boys and recalling a mental image) while my awesome husband played with my adorable (albeit exhausting) toddler in the water. This was her first real trip to the lake - we don't really count the 2 days we spent there in March when she was 5 months old. The other kids were all accustomed to diving into the 60 degree water, but our poor little desert flower wasn't as willing. She warmed up throughout the week and got in more than I expected her to...or than I did.

How to begin to describe the fun? Let's start with food. It was plentiful. But so were mouths. My sweet sisters-in-law planned out, shopped for and executed a menu for the entire week for 17-23 people of varying ages at any given time. An impressive feat. Had it been up to me, we would have had sandwiches and cereal for every meal. But we enjoyed the likes of cinnamon roll casserole, pulled pork, a menagerie of fantastic salads and more. It was beautiful. When we weren't eating, we were jumping in the lake (some more gracefully than others), tubing, playing games, reading, watching Harry Potter movies, taking 4 wheeler rides, napping (Teagan napped every day we were there - what joy!), canoeing and just enjoying one another's company. We spent a day at Silverwood, a nearby amusement and water park and were shocked at some of the rides Teagan chose. Repeatedly. The kiddie area had a ride akin to the Tower of Terror, in that it pulls you up and drops you from varying heights. I won't go near rides like that (even the mini version like this one) and Teagan rode it over and over and over. Interspersed with a wild swinging ride that would have made me upchuck. She must get her bravery from her father. They had an awesome splash pad that was absolutely perfect for Teagan and Sam and we spent a good portion of the day running around there. Grandma was very sweet to bring me a chair and make me sit while she chased Teagan around, under, over and through. Love her. It was a really fun day and we were all exhausted by the time we got home.

The girls were sweet enough to take Teagan on her first tube ride and she loved it. We were reeling them in and she was shouting "Again! Again!" but she had to take turns with the boys, who were tossed around like rag dolls (and loved it) so I think she chose the right crowd to ride with. Bless Emma's heart, she had Teagan in her lap and alternated holding on herself with wrapping both arms around Teagan to keep her from flying out. What a sweetheart.

Teagan learned a lot from her cousins that week - including how funny it is to push someone off the deck. She needed a little help, and Sam made a perfect partner in crime.

Teagan's less than 3 months older than Sam and from the very first time they "met" they've been nothing but friendly to each other. It's really a treat to watch. Sam restored my faith in Teagan that she is actually capable of getting along with other children her age. That was put to the test towards the end of the week, but after that much time under one roof and sharing the same toys, there were bound to be a few "no's" and "mine's" here and there. He's such a sweet little boy and put her to shame when we all went to see Turbo at the movie theatre. He sat on Eric's lap for the entirety of the film while Brandon chased a screaming, flailing monster who closely resembled my daughter up and down the hall outside for the last 45 minutes. He's so mellow it kills me. He hugged her when she was sad, she shared her books with him and they held the most adorable conversations. We missed Camden, who's just 4 months younger than Sam. It is so fun to see the three of them together the older they get.

We attended church at a small branch nearby and learned a lot. Apparently they'd just had an addition built and are very protective of it. Before sacrament meeting even started, a member of the bishopric announced that it wasn't the appropriate place to feed your children. On the list of inappropriate snacks: Goldfish (check!), bottled water (check!), fruit snacks (check!) and prunes. If you didn't catch that last one, I'll repeat: PRUNES. Fortunately we didn't have any of those, but I wonder if that particular point was directed at the older crowd or if someone had slipped on one last week. At any rate, I was very careful when feeding Teagan. She went to Nursery no problem, and Tara & Eric traded off being in there with Sam, who hasn't learned to love Nursery just yet. I went to pick T up after meetings and asked how she did. In hindsight it didn't really matter, since we'd only be there that one day, but I couldn't take it back once I'd asked, no matter how much I wished I could. The response: "Well, she's pretty bossy. But I see where she gets it." Um, do we know eachother? I was under the impression that this was the only interaction we'd had, so I was confused as to what had lead her to believe I was bossy. Eric later told me that she'd asked if Teagan was an only child, and he told her that she had a baby brother on the way. "Well, she's going to have to learn to share" was her reply. So he seemed to think that she was referencing their conversation. Regardless, I stewed the whole way home (and still think about it) about my child being bossy and not sharing. Then I was reminded that she's two years old and all seemed right with the world. Grandma even said she was glad Teagan stood up for herself. And I value Grandma's opinion, so there you have it.

The Richards men wore their church uniforms: white shirts, ties and khakis, and came armed with iPads. Except that one of those iPads is not like the others. It's actually our sister-in-law, Annie's, who put a cute little orange cover on hers and lent it to Brandon for the picture. The man can wear a pink shirt but looks uncomfortable holding a fashionable iPad.

We had such a wonderful time getting away from it all and relaxing at the lake. And while our floating silhouettes are less-than-flattering and it's a little too easy to float these days, we embraced it.

Everyone had gone by Friday evening, so we stayed one more night at the cabin with Brandon's parents. The quiet, serene cabin that seems a lot bigger when there are 5 of you instead of 23. We tried our hardest to make it through a movie and failed miserably. But beautifully. Matt & Kimbre came by on Saturday and Kimbre was kind enough to chop my hair off. It was nice to see them - Matt (Brandon's cousin) was also his college roommate. A combination you'd think would encourage them to keep in touch a little more often than the nothing that actually happens. What would they do without Kimbre and I, I ask you? It was so fun to see their little Riley, who as it turns out isn't so little anymore. Must be those Zirker genes. We headed back to Moscow for the rest of the weekend and were treated to a night out, consisting of Mongolian BBQ and Wolverine, a better combination you'll look far and wide to find. Thanks, Grandma! Tiff, Tara and families came over on Sunday for a big family dinner (love those) and Teagan "helped" pick raspberries for the occasion. If by "helped" you mean "stained her clothes and got in the way". The weather was beautiful, the company was wonderful and we wished we didn't have to go back to Las Vegas so soon. But we wanted to make sure we got back in case no one was there in Nursery to boss kids around and not share toys.

 

{Post date: 8.5.13}

Locks 'o' Love from Michelle

It's no secret that Las Vegas is hot. It's not secret that I've worn my hair longer than long for the majority of my life. In some cases, waist-length. I went against my mother's advice at the age of 13 and chopped my waist-length hair off at my shoulders. My Mum was right. I got tons of compliments on it. The first day people saw me. A change from being stopped in the street by strangers, wanting to talk about my hair. It sounds shallow now, but remember - I was 13. I think part of my identity was tangled up in my hair and I grew it back as fast as I could and since then, it's been increasingly harder to manage. It gained some curl after I cut it, presumably because it wasn't weighed down quite so much, but it wasn't enough curl that I could get away with not doing anything to it. It had to be straightened, or it had to be scrunched. Just leaving it was not an option. Enter regret, and I'll immortalize the words: Mum was right.

I cut it again a few times in college, donating when I could, but for the most part, have worn it as long as I could stand to. As recently as two weeks ago, it was back to within inches of where my waist would be, if I still had one. It still took a lot of maintenance if I wanted to do anything besides put it up in a bun, and that was happening nearly every day. I snapped a photo on a rare Sunday when I actually straightened my hair, after breaking out in a sweat and needing to leave the bathroom every few minutes to escape the heat. With the impending birth of a second child, I thought I should do something that required a little less maintenance. Like cutting off more than a foot.

My sweet, beautiful, incredibly talented cousin Kimbre mustered all her courage and agreed to cut it for me while we were at the cabin. She's told me several times that my hair is not for the faint of heart - it's huge. I asked her at one point during the cut whether she was going to thin it, and she asked me what I thought she'd been doing for the last 10 minutes. I looked down, and even without two foot-long braids, the floor was covered. While I'll never have hair as gorgeous as hers (and I really shouldn't have taken a photo with me standing so close to her for my ego's sake) I was SO happy with how it turned out. Even better than expected. She reminded me that it's still incredibly thick, so it will take some maintenance, but she left me enough that I can still put it up in a ponytail. And by ponytail, I mean nub. Thanks for your bravery and commitment, Kimbre!

She was kind enough to separate and braid my hair so that I could send it straight off to Locks of Love.I thought they might appreciate it more than my vacuum - hoping I don't have to take the scissors to it as often now.

It took me a couple of days to take the risk of washing it and having to do it myself. Of course it will never look the same as when she cut and styled it, so I made sure to take a picture of her version to post on Facebook. I still love it , but of course it would look better if she were my live-in stylist.

In the past when I've donated hair, it's been at a salon and they ship it off for you. So it was a new experience for me to package it up myself and send it - hence taking more than a week to do so. Poor Brandon had to deal with two disembodied braids laying around the house while I let it dry (it was still wet a couple of days after the cut...such is my life), made sure I had read the instructions properly and mustered the courage to send it. It seemed so final. But I guess the cut itself made it pretty darn final. It felt really good to do something good for someone else, in addition to having a new haircut that I love and keeps me cooler on those 110+ days. 

 

Now that my self-esteem isn't entwined in my tresses, I don't need compliments. Truth be told, more often than not, I was hearing "Wow, your hair is so long!" and other statements of fact instead of actual compliments. I was never sure how to respond - and you're a girl! didn't seem right, but seemed like an equivalent. I still break a sweat when I'm straightening it and still don't have a handle on the nasty cowlick I've been battling for years, but I can say with confidence that I'm glad I did it. But I'll speak for my 13 year-old self and say, "Mum, if you're reading this - you were right all those years ago."

Michelle Richards' Day Off

Richards? Richards? Anyone?

As selfish as it may make me seem, I admit: when my wonderfully selfless husband asked me what I want when it comes to Mother's Day, our anniversary, etc. I ask for a day off. A day to myself, to (within reason) do whatever I please and go wherever I please. A day to leave the responsibility of caring for our daughter to him and just be Michelle for a day. I love being his wife and I cherish the privilege I have of being someone's Mummy. I need to make that clear. Both are titles I dreamed of, longed for and hold dear. But I don't remember the last time I wasn't accountable to someone and I wanted, just for a few hours, to be a lone wolf. I hope that anyone reading this will understand and perhaps empathize and know that I love my little family with all of my heart and just needed to give that full heart a little time to unwind.

At any rate, Brandon delivered. In a big way. He packed a bag for Teagan (with a little advice from me) and set off after breakfast for the park and the library so I could enjoy some quiet time at home. I took a picture of my darling duo off on their Daddy-Daughter Date and Teagan winked at me while I did it. She must have known that I was about to do a whole lotta nothin'.

I started by running the dishwasher and putting in a load of laundry - just to say I hadn't done absolutely nothing. Then I sat and ate junk food and watched some bonus footage on the Breaking Dawn DVD I'd borrowed from the library - glad I didn't pay anything to see it. Then, I took the longest shower I've had in almost 3 years. I didn't live in fear of what I might discover when I exited or who might pop into the bathroom, carrying who knows what. I shampooed AND conditioned - separately - 

I made the mistake of going shopping - not that I spent too much money but that this particular Saturday was akin to shopping on Chrismtas Eve. I had totally forgotten that kids go back to school on Monday and was faced with wall-to-wall moms and whiny children. Of course, it was a huge relief that none of those crying, screaming children belonged to me, so I didn't mind it so much. But even though it was my happy place (Target, by myself - it isn't happy unless I'm alone) it took up entirely too much of this precious time, maneuvering around carts full of pencils, children throwing fits on the floor and waiting my turn at check-out. 

Then it was off to the library, to enjoy some peace and quiet and catch up on the blog. Well, it wasn't as quiet as I thought it would be, and since I decided to squeeze in some grocery shopping while I was solo. Here's where I emphasize the fact that it wasn't wanting to "escape" the life I'm living and love so much, I just needed "an escape" for a few hours, if that makes sense. I spent the bulk of my lone library time blogging about the husband and daughter I left at home.

-shopping - compared to Christmas Eve, back to school shoppers are crazy!
-wasted too much time at my "happy place"
-ran dishwasher and did load of laundry (just to say I'd done something)
-took longest shower in 3 years, not living in fear of what I might discover when I exit or who might come in with what

Seven years later and I'm not itchy at all!

7 years and 70 lbs* later, we've still got it**. Happy Anniversary, Buddy!

*I'm not at liberty to discuss the distribution of said weight.
**The word "it" is open to interpretation.

It seemed appropriate to celebrate our marriage at the place it began - the temple. Our friends, The Statens, were kind enough to watch Teagan for us so we could go and participate in a session. I had grand plans to eat at the cafeteria, having really enjoyed some service there last month. I volunteered to fulfill an assignment in the kitchen, washing dishes and preparing food and it reminded me of the good ol' days at the MTC Cafeteria. Except I wasn't hugely pregnant and coerced into sitting on a stool for most of the shift. The equipment was the same and dealing with mass amounts of food made me feel homesick for the hours of flipping pancakes on a grill wider than I was tall and shoveling huge quantities of salad for hungry Elders. It was fun. But I digress. We didn't actually get to eat there because we hit traffic and arrived with just enough time to grab their famous cinnamon rolls to go. And we ended up in the Spanish session and had to wear headsets. But it was a good reminder that the Gospel is the same wherever you go and whatever language you speak.

It was so wonderful to be at the temple with my groom and remember the day we promised to spend forever together. He's just as handsome now as he was then and I couldn't be happier. It was fun to have our little man with us as well, jumping and kicking and making me feel a special connection to heaven.

We shared the cinnamon rolls with our dear friends who made the evening possible and cracked open some imitation butter beer. In keeping with our heavenly theme. Wow, it was good.

I had grandiose plans for how this evening was going to go and while most fell through, I could hardly be disappointed. I learned a lesson in patience and really enjoyed the time we spent there - we were at the temple, after all. 

I had grandiose plans for our marriage - from the timing of our children to Brandon's employment and things haven't necessarily gone the way I'd planned - and by "I", I mean "we". They've gone His way, and we have faith in His timing because He knows what is best for us and things often turn out better than we'd hoped. What a wonderful way to celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss. Love you, Buddy!

In times of test, family is best.

It was wonderful to be able to visit with so much family during our trip. My Grandma, the cheeriest cancer patient you'll ever meet, had us over to her apartment several times and always had delicious comfort food waiting for us. If you've never had her Yorkshire Pudding, you've never lived. I don't know many people my age whose Grandma will compete in lawnmower races, but mine will. She tried her best to let the kids win, shifting down and all that, but the speed demon in her couldn't help itself. She played Peek-a-Boo with Teagan, shared many a treat, helped her shred a bunch of old documents (for some reason T loved this?) and played with her enough that instead of calling her "Grandma Great", Teagan just started calling her "Great." She really is Grrrrreat. It was so special for me to see she and Teagan building a relationship and playing together. Teagan's the eldest girl of the eldest girl of the eldest girl :) Because I'm the eldest, I remember her giving me horsey rides and swimming with me and being all sorts of fun and it's amazing that she hasn't changed (although I don't believe her doctor permits horsey rides anymore). I love this woman so much. Grandad's pretty awesome too - we visited with him, but no photo opportunities presented themselves. He was very generous with his candy supply when it came to Teagan and she knew just where to go.

We were fortunate enough for our visit to overlap with Uncle Gary, James & Emma from England. We all usually visit in August, so it was a wonderful surprise to hear that they were coming. Of course, it would have been nicer if we'd overlapped for longer than a few hours, but I'll take what I can get. They were staying with Auntie Heather and Uncle Steve who welcomed us over several times and we always had fun. Teagan loved playing my little cousin, Stephen, almost as much as she enjoyed playing with all his toys when we visited and he wasn't there. He was incredibly sweet to her and shared everything. But good thing he had two Spiderman costumes, because those were a hit. We won't talk about the other costumes that other family members enjoyed...I think he's excited for a boy.

We celebrated Father's Day while we were there, and while poor Brandon got neglected (though it was agreed upon beforehand) we sat Dad down to give him a few tokens of appreciation. He received a Victoria's Secret bag...with sensible sandals in it. His Before and After faces pre and post opening the giant pink bag were hilarious. We wanted to catch a picture of Dad with his 4 kids and after taking the first one, noticed that we children looked entirely too happy. Fixed that the second time around.

Thrown in a couple of son-in-laws and a granddaughter and the smiles came back out. Happy Father's Day, father!

Speaking of children, the 4 of us siblings had a sleepover one night and intended to stay up much later than we did. For night owls, we didn't last as long as we thought we would, but perhaps that's because there was too much fun crammed into the few hours we were awake together. Of the myriad of games my parents have to choose from, I insisted we play Hedbanz - the last of the games any of the kids wanted to play. Kristina made no secret of her distaste for my choice and mocked me incessantly when my turn took infinitely longer than anyone else's. It's harder than I remembered. She condemned me to going twice and insisted she only had to go once, because it wasn't her "stupid idea." We did end up having some fun, between Daniel posing the question "Am I annoying?" and us asking whether he meant the thing on his card or if he was just taking a general poll. Bless him. It's always funnier for those not in the hot seat, as evidenced by us giggling non-stop at some of Kristina's questions. She ended up being "Love Handles" and asked if I had any would I share them with her. Absolutely I would, but sadly, the world doesn't work that way.
I don't want to say that we rival the von Trapps, but if there were 4 more of us, I've no doubt we would. We love sitting around and singing hymns or other songs in 4 part harmony...yes, I've been demoted to tenor. Nicola and I sang in church with an old friend of mine while Mum played the piano and it brought back fun memories of all 4 of us standing in front of a congregation and singing our little hearts out. In our old age, some of us are less inclined to perform, but in the comfort of our own home, we don't hold back. Perhaps some of us should - Dad sends the message loud and clear when he's had enough.

We had a wonderful visit and loved spending so much time with family. I don't appreciate how much I miss them until I see them and have to say goodbye. Teagan recognized everyone better than I thought, running up and giving hugs immediately and knowing everyone's names. It warmed my heart. In spite of GG collecting a ton of children's toys and setting up a little Teagan Tent in the living room, the ungrateful sass spent a lot of time holed up in Auntie Nicola's room. If ever I lost track of her (which was never!) she could usually be found lying in bed, half-naked, watching TV (having turned it on herself)...with at least one finger up her nose...sometimes two. Mum joked that we'd have to install a TV in her room - things sure were peaceful. I didn't get a photo of her surrounded by "her guys" but wherever she went, her "guys" were never far behind. She wandered around with no less than 6 stuffed animals and insisted on making sure they were all present at bedtime.

Teagan flew like a champ, yet again. Practice makes perfect, I guess. It really helped that G-Pop sent her home with a Snoopy doll that she explained the flying process to once we got on the plane - she forgot to tell him where the emergency exits were, but we'll let it slide. She helped him fasten his seatbelt, get settled and gave him a hug and kiss to help him not be scared. She buckled herself in, tapped the seatbelt, looked up at me and said "I ready fly, Mummy. I ready fly." Where did my baby go?

{Post Date: 6.25.13}

Pump up the Jam.

Pump It Up. 

From their website: Private indoor arenas, filled with gigantic inflatable slides, bounce houses, obstacle courses and more.

From me: Pure awesome.

We had the opportunity to go last year, but Teagan was a mere 18 months old and I pictured her being trampled accidentally by a hoard of excited pre-teens and opted out. This year, she was the perfect age. I might have enjoyed an indoor bounce fest more last year, but it isn't about me. She was hesitant at first, for about the first hour. We only had two hours there. She started to get more comfortable, especially when more fun, less pregnant mums climbed in when the kids. I actually did convince her to go down one of the slides, as long as I went with her. The ascent seemed to take hours and I immediately regretted my decision. She sat on my lap at the top of the mountain and we surveyed the land below. I took a deep breath, counted to three and pushed off, sending us careening down the slide with my bum barely grazing the surface at what I'd estimate as an 85 degree angle. All the times I had told Teagan how much fun this was going to be meant absolutely nothing as a screamed like a little girl in my little girl's ear. My not-insignificant stomach turned several times and I was so relieved to reach the bottom. And even more relieved that the inflatable bump at said bottom actually stopped us and didn't allow me to go flying across the room as I had been envisioning the whole way down.

Later, Teagan wanted to try it again and actually went down on her own...or was pushed. Either way, she made it to the bottom and did NOT want to go again.

She eventually got over the trauma and bounced happily in the smaller child area and I got a few moments to sit and relax and chat with other mums. Emily organized it and scored us a sweet deal of $4 for 2 hours. Money well spent, especially when it came to bedtime. Thanks, Emily!

Ootings.

For those of you who don't habla Canadian, that's "outings". And we had a few. Mum went out of her way to make sure Teagan never uttered the words "I'm bored." 

She was kind enough to renew my season's pass to Canada's Wonderland and we hit up the amusement park several times and had a blast every time. Teagan got into giving the "thumbs up", but it took a lot of her focus, so when she did it in pictures, she couldn't think about much else - for example, looking at the camera or smiling. Or steering the car she was "driving" - we made sure to document that one for G-Pop who is still haunted by the memory of me driving his car away solo for the first time and being dumb enough to waver from the 10 & 2 position to wave at him. The apple hasn't fallen far from the tree. Teagan was very brave to try nearly all of the rides she was tall enough to go on - including a mini-rollercoaster that she suckered GG into. I was oh-so-proud of both of them, puttin their hands up in the air n' everythang. It was really sweet.

Also on the docket, where a kid can be a kid - and a Haw can be an employee by virtue of their last name. Nicola, who recently left their ranks, but not their hearts, accompanied us in order to secure us the royal treatment. T was the perfect age this year, really enjoying some of the games...but remained aloof to the Big Cheese himself. Okay, if the definition of "aloof" were "to cower in fear and cling desperately to the closest family member or inanimate object" she would have been aloof. She enjoyed the animatronic show from a safe distance (ahem, across the giant room), secure behind a mesh enclosure.

She managed to muster the courage to snuggle with a plastic version of Chuck, after a little cajoling. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy the games, as long as GG was with her. Brandon enjoyed some basketball (still got it) and I rocked out as much as a pregnant near-30-year-old can at Guitar Hero and faced my game show anxiety head on in a rousing round of Deal or No Deal? A day well spent, to be sure.

This is Teagan's last year to get into the renowned Toronto Zoo free, so we jumped at the chance to spend a day there. She loved it. She talked about giraffes, elephants and lions the whole way there and really enjoyed seeing the live versions of animals the poor, sheltered Las Vegan has only seen on TV. The giraffes were a big hit with Teagan. And when we saw them bending over for a bit of grass, I felt a strange kinship with them - I look a lot like this when I bend over these days.

We watched the polar bear for nearly half an hour, swimming the same circle over and over. It was hilarious. We had to return to the elephant enclosure several times to actually see one, and I'd like to say it was worth it, but by the time we saw one, T was toast. We had a ton of fun and Teagan talked about it for days afterward - one of few parenting wins I've had so far.

 

Lest you think all the ootings revolved around T, we took advantage of Mum & Nicola a couple of times and grab lunch with Auntie Heather & Uncle Steve at a really cool all-you-can-eat sushi place and to a movie with Kristina & Pablo. Mum scored free tickets concealed in AA battery packs (she's set for the next few years now) and sent us to a free movie. Since the value of the coupon ended up being enough for a 3-D movie and I hadn't seen one, we ended up seeing Superman in 3-D in order to get the most bang for her buck. Honestly? I was overwhelmed. 2-D is enough for me. But I enjoyed the movie and the adult time. Thanks, ladies! Always nice to get oot and aboot.

{Post date: 6.25.13}