I've Been Tagged

My sister Mindy tagged me, so now I have to share 8 random facts about me. Here goes:

1. I LOVE to get good deals, and I am a bargain shopper. When it comes to clothes, I will probably won't buy it unless it's on sale (and a pretty smokin' deal). My sister Kayla and I were joking that whenever anyone says to us "Cute shirt," we pretty much always respond "Thanks, I got it for $__." I totally look at the grocery store ads and compare prices. I usually only end up going to Fry's (because I can usually get the biggest bang for my buck there) and price match the other good deals at Wal-Mart, unless there is a smokin' deal going on. I've also become a fan of the Sister Savings website, because it lists all the grocery store deals in one place.
2. I'm a CPA who doesn't do taxes. Well, I've done my own (and mine and David's) for about 5 years now, but that's it. When I was working for the accounting firm I was an auditor (not for the IRS), in which businesses would pay us to come and look at their books for them to make sure there wasn't fraudulent activity going on. It's kind of one of my pet peeves that everyone assumes that I know about taxes. I took one class in college on them, and that's pretty much the extent of my knowledge (and I've forgotten most of that, I'd have to look it up).
3. I suffer from "Mom-nesia." I seriously think that my memory has gone down hill since I had Josh. I don't know if it's because I'm not using my brain in the same way anymore or what, but I forgot things all the time! I know I used to forget things before I had Josh, but it's even worse now.
4. Because I suffer from the above disorder, I am a list maker. I have to make lists for everything, or else I'll forget it. I have a grocery list, a Wal-Mart list, a list of things I need to remember to take with us to Shumway this weekend, a list of memories of my dad that have come to me over the past few weeks that I don't want to forget, a list of possible gift ideas for David, etc. When I first got tagged for this, I started a list of random things I could write about myself, because I knew I would forget them if I didn't write them down.
5. I won't drink a glass of milk, but I will drink the milk in my bowl after I finish all the cereal in it. David thinks it's weird that I grew up on a ranch and don't like milk. I say, there are a lot of people who don't drink milk, many in my family included.
6. I'm afraid to try new things if I don't think I'll be good at them. I guess I worry too much about what other people think of me.
7. I was cut from the 8th grade volleyball team, which was probably one of the best things, sports-wise, that ever happened to me. It made me work a LOT harder.
8. It kind of bugs me when people don't use adverbs correctly. It must be because I was dubbed a grammar policeman back in HS by Miss Cunningham. It used to be that I would verbally correct someone if I would hear them use an adverb incorrectly, but now for the most part I keep it inside. (I probably shouldn't have have listed this last one, because there are probably a lot of grammatical errors that I make on a regular basis, including the improper use of adverbs.)

I've seen a lot of "tags" on blogs lately, but I don't remember reading any on these peoples' blogs, so here's who I'm tagging: Tiffini, Danielle & Carli. (But I won't be offended if you don't want to do it, guys!)

Another Video of Dad

Here is a link to a segment that Horizon (a PBS political discussion show) did about my dad a couple of days after he passed away. It's kind of long.

http://www.azpbs.org/flashplayers/linkplayer.php?thevid=horizon/HZN06_10_08Tue_1&url=908

Also, I really enjoyed my friend Anna's post on my dad's memorial service (this is mostly for my family, who will enjoy reading it).

Thanks to everyone for cards, meals and words of encouragement over these past few weeks!

Daddy

Oh, where to start? So much has happened since my last post. My dad, Franklin Lars "Jake" Flake passed away last Sunday (June 8th) morning, and the past week was truly a whirlwind. (Because I use this for my journal, it may be more detailed than you care to read. I won't be offended.)

I can't even remember anything that happened the week before last, other than our basketball game on Monday night, which we won. Oh yeah, I did take Josh swimming at Celeste's pool on Thursday with Mindy's family. We had fun, but I didn't have any floating thing to put him in, so I just had to hold him the whole time. It was fun, but since then he's been a little hoarse.

On Friday night David, Josh and I went up to Snowflake for my nephew Shiloh's wedding on Saturday. We attended the wedding and the reception that afternoon up in Show Low. Shiloh and Danica (pronouced Dan-EEK-ca) look very happy. My dad was also able to attend both the wedding and the reception, in addition to dedicating a grave-site for one of his friends that day.

That evening Dad was pretty tired from all of the day's activities so appearantly that night he was going to sit down and relax for a while before putting his oxygen tube on and "going to bed" in the hospital bed that was set up in the family room for him. (I guess he would often switch between the bed and my mom's recliner during the night, because he would get uncomfortable.) On Sunday morning he woke up after having fallen asleep in the recliner, and had never put his oxygen on. He said he'd had the best night's sleep since his accident, and was pretty happy about that. Teresa joked with him that the reason he'd had such a good sleep was because he was probably passed out most of the night from lack of oxygen. He was playing with the grandkids that morning and joking around with us. Then he got up to go to the bathroom and made it as far as the doorway to my parent's bedroom where he passed out and fell on his side (the side with the broken ribs from his horse accident 2 weeks prior). My mom was still in the bedroom, and David was at the other end of the hall and Travis, Teresa and I rushed in there. Soon Evonne Boone, one of our neighbors/relatives got there and Dad was still breathing and snoring a bit and acknowledged our questions with grunts. With Travis' and Evonne's help my Dad rolled onto his back (we were worried about him laying on his hurt ribs), but then he stopped breathing and Evonne (with Travis' help) started CPR. Soon the paramedics got there and continued CPR, which they did all the way up to the hospital, but they were not able to revive him.

While I am very sad about losing my Dad, I know it is only temporary and that I will see him again. I really feel that the horse accident he had was in preparation for this...it just started the turn of events that Heavenly Father had in store for him. I'm so thankful for my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and the fact that our family is sealed together for eternity.

I am very grateful that David and I were able to make it home for the wedding and see him again. Very, very grateful. I'm also thankful that Dad was able to get to know Josh for a while. That's one of the things I'll miss most...my children getting to know (and remember) their grandpa.

Anyway, last week was very busy and full of a lot of late nights and little sleep. Thanks to Paul Senseman (my Dad's Chief of Staff when he was Speaker, now a lobbyist) and Mitch Menlove (a lobbyist and LDS bishop), we had a wonderful memorial service for Dad down here in Phoenix on Wednesday. Then we had a viewing on Thursday and another one Friday morning before the funeral. My family and I have felt so honored as people share how he has touched their lives. We have received many visits, phone calls, e-mails, etc. He was a friend to more people than we ever knew. Almost everyone that knew him loved him and he loved them.

I'm grateful for the wonderful father I was and am blessed with and for all of the things he has taught me, including working, managing money and the especially the gospel. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful dad.

Some memories of my Dad I have had this past week:

1. Cutting his toenails. Sounds funny, I know. My dad's toenails are pretty gross, but I was happy to do it for him. It felt like I was repaying him in small part for all he's done for me, some how. He even bought a special set of "tools" for me to use. On Saturday night he asked me to cut them for him again, because they were starting to snag on his socks. So luckily he now has pedicured toes up in heaven.
2. Cutting cows. Whenever we would go branding, we would have to "cut" the calves away from their mothers, or separate other cows for some reason. Often, especially at Monument Hill, he would have me help him while the others started the branding. I always felt good when I was chosen to help him, I felt like he was showing confidence in me.
3. Burning both ends of the candle. One week during high school I was particularly busy. I think I had stayed up really late finishing a book report, and then woke up early to practice the violin before 7:00 Madrigals. My dad came in while I was practicing and told me I was "burning both ends of the candle" and told me to go back to bed and not go to Madrigals that morning. I really appreciated him looking out after me.
4. Going on trips with him. Because I was single for so long I had the opportunity to go on a few trips with my parents and Kayla. Orlando, FL for a Farm Credit meeting, New York City for the Republican National Convention in 2004, and Chicago, IL for a Fiesta Bowl committee trip to watch a Notre Dame, USC football game. My dad was in meetings most of the time during some of those trips and I actually spent more time sight-seeing with my mom, but they still bring back fond memories of Dad.
5. Living in the condo with him. Before I got married I spent 6+ years living in my parent's condo, and taking care of it for them while they were gone. I treasure those times, because I got to see my dad a lot more often than I would have otherwise. He would often come down on Sunday evenings to a house full of our friends and he put up with our noise and even chatted with our friends and got to know them.
6. Dad "firing" me from the House of Representatives. I had been working as an administrative assistant at the House for almost 4 years when my dad became Speaker of the House, which would have technically been my boss. Because of the nepotism rules there, my dad effectively had to fire me. It was pretty funny at the time, because my dad mentioned it during his speech on opening day and the papers wrote a little article on it. I was very sad to have to quit there, but really it was the best thing for me at the time. I ended up getting an internship with an accounting firm (Nelson Lambson & Co., later named Schmidt Westerday & Company), who later hired me on full time after I graduated. I spent 4 1/2 years at SWCO until I quit after having Josh.
7. Talking with my parents and getting a father's blessing from my dad after the 24th celebration before David and I got engaged. Things were starting to get serious between the two of us, but something David did that weekend upset me. I started for home, crying as I was driving, and about the time I got to the Temple View chapel I decided to turn around and go and ask my dad for a Father's Blessing. I talked with both of my parents about things for a bit and my dad gave me a blessing that calmed me down a lot. Both of my parents are really good about giving advice, which I'm so appreciative of.
8. My dad coming to the hospital after I had Josh. I love the picture I have of him holding Josh. Even though Josh was his 54th grandchild, he was still excited.
9. Dad holding Josh on his lap Sunday morning, not long before he fell and passed away. I thought about taking a picture of the two of them that morning, but didn't, since Dad didn't have a shirt on over his garments.

Here are a couple of video segments and pictures of my Dad:

During one of the many parades he campaigned in


At the Republican National Convention


One of my favorite pictures--Dad on Chester


Dad showing my nephew Trey how to eat carrots


A tribute from my cousin Jeff Flake on the floor of the US House of Representatives

The segment Channel 12 did on my dad's funeral

Also, David wanted me to say that my husband (meaning him) is the hottest ever. I agree. (He didn't really think I would post it.) :)

We're So Glad When Daddy Comes Home!

The news of this week is that David had to go out of town for work. He went to IBM's headquarters in Maryland, since they are working on a project with IBM. Luckily, he was only gone from Wed. to Fri. night, but we missed him nonetheless. I know many of you have husbands who routinely go out of town for work, and I don't envy you at all! David tells me that since I quit work I am much more talkative during the evenings...I really missed being able to converse with another adult during the evening. Talking on the phone just isn't the same.

We went and visted Mindy and her kids on Wed. afternoon, and she invited us to stay for dinner. It was nice to have a mutual-free night, since the girls had just returned from girls' camp the day before. Josh got to play with Spencer, Bryant and Karalee...he loves to have kids to follow around.

To help pass the time during the evenings I borrowed Season 1 of "Gilmore Girls" from Vicki's roommate and got a few episodes in before David got home late Fri. night. I was lazy all Sat. morning and watched most of the rest of them. It was fun to watch all the beginning episodes again, now I'm ready for Season 2. Anyone out there have it and want to let me borrow???

Yesterday Josh's 2nd top front tooth finally broke through, so now he has a jack-o-lantern smile--two teeth on the top and one on on the bottom. Hopefully the other bottom one will come soon to even things out a bit. He's getting to where he'll stand on his own for just a second. Maybe walking isn't too far off. This week he'll be 10 months old. Where has the time gone?!

Hopefully you're not too tired of my pictures, but here are a few from this past week:

Spencer, Josh, Bryant and Karalee swinging in Mindy's back yard

Josh showing off his first top tooth.

One of Josh's favorite things is to play with my old business cards. If you come to visit, there's a pretty good chance that they'll be strewn about the back room. You might even find one or two in the kitchen and living room.

I couldn't resist this one...that smile is just too cute.

Memorial Day

I love long weekends! Lately Josh has been waking up between 5 and 6 in the morning, but often if I feed him a bottle I can put him back down for another hour or so. Yesterday I did this and actually got to go back to sleep for about another hour, and he didn't wake back up until 9:00. That's his record...wahoo!

This past week we got to have Casey and Sophie come over to play with us while Tiffini went to the dentist. They seemed to have a good time, I think Josh enjoyed the company. Other than that, not too much out of the ordinary for us. My dad, however, had some excitement. One of my brothers organized a trail ride through our old pastures up in Snowflake that several of my family members went on. We decided not to go up, since we will be going out of town almost every couple of weeks for the next couple of months. Just before stopping for lunch, my Dad's horse got spooked and started bucking. Dad got thrown off and beat up. They took him to the hospital up in Show Low where they found that he had 8 broken ribs...OUCH! He is now home in Snowflake recovering, but he'll probably be in pain for a while. Not fun! They also branded the calves yesterday, which I was sad to miss out on, but we did some fun things down here to celebrate the holiday instead.

Saturday David's Aunt JD and Uncle George invited us over for a bbq where there was tons of good food to be had. Then yesterday we went to another bbq with some people from our ward down at the pool in our complex. It's so nice to have such a fun and friendly ward! We were going to take Josh swimming for the first time, but eveyone said the water was pretty cold, so we didn't venture in. Soon enough.

Here are some more pictures of my cute boy:

Much to David's chagrin, Josh loves macaroni and Cheese. David calls it "yellow death".

Here's Casey and Sophie and Josh playing. Casey is really feeling the music.

I finally got a picture that you can see his first tooth in (barely). The other day one of his top front teeth broke through, and the other top one isn't far behind.

Lately Josh has started sticking his tongue out a lot. Funny boy.

Josh also likes to see how high up on shelves he can reach. He's becoming quite the climber. This is at George & JD's house. I was barely able to save the bowl on the 3rd shelf from the bottom before Josh pulled it off. Whew!

Aunt Lydia sharing some lemon sorbet with Josh. He didn't pucker up as much as I thought he would. What fun aunts Josh has!

Josh wanted to send Grandpa Flake a get well card.

Trip to Thatcher

We've had a pretty fun week. Monday night my city league basketball team (the Vote For Jake Bruisers) played two games and ended up winning our tournament...wahoo! We have a few new girls this season due to most of our original team having moved, but we still have a lot of fun. We had to play two games, one at 6:30, and then the championship game at 8:30, so by the time we were finished this out of shape old lady could barely walk. Seriously, I was hobbling around the house the rest of that night and again the next morning until I got loosened up. It's rough getting old!! Tonight my parents threw a little ice cream and swimming party for us, which was fun. Thanks Mom and Dad, for sponsoring us and for the party!

On Thursday we went to Thatcher. David's retainer broke, and since his old orthodontist in Thatcher doesn't work on Fridays he got himself a Thursday appointment and gave us a good excuse to go for a long weekend visit. David, with the help of Grandpa Orr, was able to make me a new piano bench (I'll post pictures at the end). They salvaged the legs and hardware from the original piano bench so that they would match the piano, but he rebuilt the bench and box under it, since they were trashed. We still need to sand and stain it, but they did a great job! David also had Grandpa help him weld some gadget for his Jeep. Of course he now wants more tools. I told him we have to have a house with a garage before he can get any more tools. :) David also went to his parents' ward's Fathers and Sons outing with his dad, brothers, uncles and grandpa. While they were gone we had a fun girl party watching movies (P.S. I Love You and 27 Dresses--both cute stories but too much language) and ate delicious brownies that Aunt Janice made. Fun times!

Now we're back and trying to get back into the swing of things. David had a really bad migraine last night and still wasn't feeling well this morning, so he didn't go into work, poor guy. I spent the day doing laundry. I think it ended up being seven loads. That's what happens when you skip a regular laundry day and go out of town. I'm excited for when I can have a big washer and dryer (right now we have the little stacking set). According to David I "adore" big washers--I just might.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Rub a dub dub, two boys in the tub! Joseph (David's brother who just turned 3 today--Happy Birthday Joseph!) and Josh taking a bath.

David holding Joseph holding Josh.

Josh loves to play with his Aunt Jalayne.

The unfinished product. Didn't David do a great job?

Laughing and Diving

Here are a couple of cute videos of Josh from the past week:

Josh has the best belly laugh and when I hear it, it makes me so happy. For some reason he thought it was hilarious when I would smell the flowers. He was laughing even better before I decided to take the picture, but this is still pretty good.

Josh kept following David around and around like a little puppy dog, it was so cute. Here I caught the tail end of it.

I crack up every time I see the nose dive. :)