My Little Green Goober Mobile

Today I want to pay tribute to my 1999 Toyota Sienna minivan, or as my kids like to call it, the green goober mobile.  Why am I honoring my geeky minivan, you might ask?  Well, because today the speedometer hit the 200,000 mile mark, and that my friends is quite a milestone.

I've decided to post the top ten things I love about this very hip, very cool minivan:

10.  It's green!  The color of nature.  The color of trees and bushes.  The color of grass and meadows.  The color of boogers!  GROSS!  OK, I'll admit it, I don't love the green, but because this minivan is so cool, it can pull it off!

9.  All the seats come out and it turns into a lean, mean haulin' machine.  We have crammed more junk in that little minivan than I care to recall on this little blog, but trust me, it holds its own when it comes to haulin' junk!

8.  It has captains chairs in the back, which came in handy when Shelby and Jake were little because it put them just out of reach from each other.  This way they couldn't kick each other, smack each other, bite each other, or put gum in each others hair.  At least not until they got out of the van.

7.  It has a CD player that has faithfully blasted Tim McGraw CDs, giving me hours and hours of listening enjoyment!  Or listening fantasies.  Whatever!

6.  It turns on a dime.  As long as that dime is the size of a cul-de-sac.  Seriously, it can, and does, turn any u-turn into a five point turn!  Dave says it drives like a boat!  Hey, boats are cool, and so is my minivan.

5.  Eventually, because the seats come out, I've told my family they can use it for my coffin.  EVENTUALLY!  Not today!  Seriously, they all think it's hideous.  They're not going to want it when I'm gone, so I say they just take out the seats, lay me in the back, turn the key to auxiliary and blast my Timmy CDs.  I'll feel like I'm in heaven before I even get there!

4.  It takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!  It's helped teach three teenagers to drive and survived every scary moment.  It's hit curbs, nearly smacked poles, almost ran over a poor lady in a wheelchair and merged onto the freeway at speeds so slow that I swear I saw a tortoise pass us!  And it's kept us safe all the while!

3.  It can fit a long board, five boogie boards, beach towels, fins, umbrellas, beach chairs, numerous coolers and a ton of people and take us all down to the beach!  This green goober mobile of ours has provided us so many days of fun in the sun.  And it never once has complained about the sand we bring home!

2.  It has taken us to Utah and back more times than I can recall.  Many many trips to the cabin in the woods.  Trips to attend general conference.  And mostly trips to see Jessica and Todd.  Take me there again, little minivan.  Take me there again SOON!

1.  It is payment free!

So you can laugh if you want.  You can call me a goober.  You can wonder why someone as cool as me doesn't drive a car equally as cool.  But I'm here to tell ya that I love my little green goober mobile, and I'm proud to be a minivan mom!

Our Very Interesting ShelbyLynn!

On ShelbyLynn's Facebook I saw a post that said "25 Random Things You May or May Not Know About Me".  I thought they were interesting, and totally blogable.

1. My first car got stolen from my driveway :(

2. I am TERRIFIED of growing up.

3. I love my hair long but have an obsession of cutting it, and i always regret it later.

4. At night I watch either George Lopez, The Nanny, or Friends when I'm going to sleep.

5. I always cut my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches diagonally.

6. When flipping through the channels, I will often stop on infomercials, especially when it's jewelry.

7. I really want my own apartment that I can decorate to my liking.

8. I work at In-N-Out :)

9. I want to go to Italy sooo bad.

10. I don't like to talk about death.

11. I make a wish at every 11:11 that I happen to see.

12. One of my biggest fears is not being able to have kids.

13. I love musicals. Watching them and being in them.

14. I take every opportunity I have to talk about the old days in high school (even though I just graduated this past year). :P

15. I'm about to enroll for my classes at MiraCosta College in about 15 minutes.

16. I really want to learn American Sign Language.

17. I love driving my car with a full tank of gas.

18. I text a lot. And, sadly, would probably be lost without my phone.

19. I love getting all dressed up.

20. I love Akon.

21. I have Graves Disease, which means I have an overactive thyroid and causes me to have a very rapid heartbeat.

22. My room is filled with pictures of me with my friends and family.

23. Ice Cream always makes me feel better.

24. I'm Mormon and I love it!

25. I love music, whether it's listening to it, singing, or playing the piano.

:)

I love that she ended with a smiley!  Last week we found out that Shelby has Graves Disease.  It explains a lot of things that have been going on with her.  Shelby has always been pretty tiny, but lately has become even tinier (aka skinnier).  She was also saying that her hear seemed to be beating really hard and not always regularly.  Then, she fainted one day at work.  After a few tests and a bunch of lab work the doctor determined Shelby has Graves.

She seemed to take the news well, but I can tell that it hasn't been easy for her.  She was looking forward to turning 18 and taking on the world.  She can still do that, but maybe at a slightly slower pace than originally planned.  At least for now.

Getting back to the smiley, I am grateful that she ended her post with a smiley.  Even during difficult times, there is always something so smile about.  Always blessings to be counted.  Always reason to celebrate!

ShelbyLynn teaches us that every single day, and we sure do love her for it!

ShelbyLynn Graduated from Vista High School

We just couldn't be more thrilled for ShelbyLynn.  She graduated from high school and is ready to take on the world!  One thing's for sure, she's going to do whatever it is she sets her mind to.  She has an amazing future ahead of her and we are all so excited to see it unfold!

All ready to graduate and get on with life!

Shelby and Deanna walking onto the field


Where's Waldo?  I mean...Where's Shelby?

Shelby sang the Senior Song with the high school choir.
"Don't Stop Believing" (The Glee Version)


The very proud parents!

ShelbyLynn Graduated from Seminary!

It was a true blessing to have ShelbyLynn graduate after attending four years of early morning Seminary.  We know this is a choice that will bless her throughout her whole life.  She spoke at the graduation and did a marvelous job!  Way to go, Shel!

Jake Lettered in Golf

Jake was excited to play his second year of high school golf this past year and even more exited to play for the varsity team.  At the end of the year banquet he received the letter for his letterman's jacket.  The best part of the night was when the coach honored Jake by calling him "the hardest working kid on the team."  Boy oh boy was his mama proud!  Keep swingin' Jake!

ShelbyLynn's Senior Prom

ShelbyLynn went to her Senior Prom at Sea World and she had a GREAT time!

Visiting our Provo Kids

Dave and I had the blessed opportunity to visit Jessica and Todd in Provo.  It was such a fun trip, from beginning to end!  It was hard to say good-bye knowing we wouldn't see them again until July.


I made dinner for all the Utah cousins and we hung out and laughed and talked and told stories.  It was a great evening!  All those married cousins are so adorable.  We loved seeing them!

Dave and I spent an afternoon in Park City.  There was still a teeny tiny bit of snow on the ground.  It was fun to walk around and see the shops.  We had dinner with Todd and Jess that night before leaving.  Good times for sure!

Another big reason for the trip was the beautiful wedding of Sean and Emily Hall.  They couldn't be cuter, and being there with the Hall Family, who we love like family, was a memory we will never forget. 

It's been a joyful experience to watch these kids grow up and make wonderful choices.  Sean has always been a great friend to Jessica, and we are grateful he found a sweet girl like Emily!