Exterminator service?

There are videos that you take that should not be shared with other people. Especially if they are of your spouse.... and especially if it would appear to other people that you both have been drinking.

So it might be hard to believe after viewing this little video that we weren't drinking, in fact we don't drink at all, it was just well into the early morning and we were ( I can't believe I am going to admit this....) watching reruns of The Blue Collar Comedy Tour, hence the "hold my beer and watch this."

You see, right outside our side door is a little closet where we keep our garbage cans, if the door is not shut all the way critters get in and tear the garbage half way to Dallas. So upon hearing something out in the closet we decided to go investigate.

Also, please pay attention to the protective hand device my husband grabbed on the way out the door....

Yes, that is an oven mitt he is using, and yes, he tried to throw an opossum at me.

Happy Father's Day!

This is my Father. Isn't he handsome!?

Last year on Father's day my sister wrote a beautiful tribute to my Dad that can't be topped. I am going to steal some of it and post it here. I really am the luckiest girl on the planet, I have the most fabulous Dad ever!

HISTORY
My Dad grew up in Waterloo, Iowa where he was born with a beard. Growing up he tamed wild salamanders and hunted gophers. He sneezed his way through elementary school and then survived through crazy girl, razor fights in high school. His family and friends also spent a LOT of time on the Mississippi river where they water-skied and caught giant snapping turtles for lunch. Dad learned to play the trumpet and would often go to the bar on the wrong side of the railroad tracks and play jazz with all the black folk with his Levi jeans rolled up, white shirt and penny loafers. He was the original James Dean.

In college Dad was known was as "The Fish." The rest of his days at UNI are a blur, as he won't tell us about them and his best friend Dane Sommers has also been sworn to secrecy (the old "you don't tell my kids and I won't tell yours" thing). I know that he had some crazy times as one of the popular stories about "his friends" that he tells where "he wasn't there" involves a police chase and a corn field. There is also a mysterious picture of him wearing some underwear on his head. He claims he knows nothing about it.

He met and married his sweetheart at the ripe old age of 21. He finished his masters degree in geology and then started working. Interestingly enough, he wanted to be a lawyer but didn't want to spend his life in a cubicle. Little did he know that the geology department sucks you in with their cool field trips for a few years and THEN throws you in a cubicle (or in Dad's case a nice office with a view). My Mom joined the LDS church when they lived in Louisiana. It wasn't til 12 years later in Texas that Dad followed her great example. Ha-no one would believe that THE Craig Davis was getting baptized and so many people came they had to meet in the chapel.

Dad is the father of six marvelous kids (I'm his favorite) and 11 grandchildren who he loves very much.

CALLINGS, AWARDS, ETC.
Dad is quite the guy. Since he joined the church he's only ever had 3 callings. First he was in the bishopric, then he's had over a bazillion scout callings and now he's in nursery and scouts. When we first moved to Texas my Dad and a couple other guys started the largest scout troop in Houston (big deal-Houston's HUGE). They were infamous for a while in scout history. In his scouting career he's received so many awards I can hardly remember all of them. But, here are a few.

LeRoy Golson Award (very distinguished)

Scouting Family of the Year

Unit Commissioner of the Year

Scoutmaster of the Year

Silver Beaver

And so many other Pine Tree awards I can't even recall

Other Random Information
Because he was so involved with scouting, he was a favorite among all the guys we all hung out with in high school. My brother's friends knew that he was the voice of Jack In The Box. Every time he'd leave and go on another "business" trip, a new commercial would come out. They were obsessed with this for months.

He always has a handkerchief (AKA snot rag).

He doesn't drink after children.

On one of the scouting trips he took, Blake Rhalston kept taking off his smelly shoes. My dad repeatedly said not to. Blake didn't listen, and his socks ended up on the freeway. Blake is still whining about this 10 years later.

Jonathan Kay was fascinated with my dad's beard. I remember the day he witnessed something that is usually only captured on a high speed camera-my dad coming his beard. He keeps a comb in his pocket so he can straighten it out and when Jonathan saw him comb his whole face in less than a second he was impressed out of his mind and couldn't stop talking about it for months.

He's not a cowboy. In fact, he hates country music.

He shaved the beard into a goatee, and now people think he is Colonel Sanders.

He's been mistaken for Steve Martin and Richard Dreifus more than once. People are very disappointed when they see him at the airport, ask for a signature and it comes out, "Craig Davis."

He's the best husband ever. He's been shopping patiently for hours with my mom at antique stores so she can find this certain drawer for a sewing machine and I've never heard a complaint.

People fear and love him. He is intimidating... he's really smart and knows everything. He wrote the dictionary.

He can make things explode just by looking at them.

He has traveled to more countries than I am old. I think so anyway. He has spent a lot of time in Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Greece, Europe, China and like four hundred other places I can't even keep track of. He's dined with ambassadors, presidents, and all sorts of VIP peoples.

I have had numerous people at church over the years pull me aside to tell me how lucky I am to be his daughter and how much they love and respect him.

Dad has a unique cough. Whenever we go somewhere and lose site of him, we listen for his "Eh heh" cough and we can find him.

He likes to canoe, rock climb, mountain bike (face first), hike.

He can name every kind of rock. My least favorite as a kid was the "Levarite." ... Leave it right where you found it...

FAVORITE PHRASES
"YOU KIDS DON'T DO DIDDLY-SQUAT!"
"You couldn't find your butt with both hands!""You're as blind as a bat!"

I am so lucky to have a dad like my Dad and I love him so much. He's the kindest, most forgiving man on the planet. His great example of what a man should be like will be in my heart forever. I hope I can raise my kids(whenever they get here) to be like their Grandfather.

This is what happens when men babysit...

As a hair stylist I have seen hundreds of hysterical Mother's with children who have decided to cut their own hair. I have also had to fix probably a hundred little heads of hair to trying to salvage what was left of a do it yourself haircut.

I remember my sisters cutting each others hair and my Mom having to fix it. The worst was my good friend Paige (don't hate me for this...) her daughter had the most gorgeous long thick hair. She cut it so short and to the scalp she looked like an albino. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, the daughter was fine, Paige was a mess!

Earlier this week my little 3 year old decided she didn't like the hair in her face and she gave herself bangs. I was furious, I gave her the "no one but me cuts your hair" talk. She has bangs now. I hate bangs...

Tonight I was teaching a coupon class and left the kids and their cousin with Paul. I got home and we put them to bed. My parents came to pick up my niece and as soon as she walked out of the room I noticed this...

Her hair had been cut! I freaked, and she proudly told us how my 3 year old had cut her hair! Seriously, why my kid. I feel horrible, her Mom is out of town, I had to call and profusely apologize and beg for forgiveness! My sister handled it much better than I would have, she just told me to fix it.
So we had an impromptu haircutting party.
Then we blew it dry and made her cute!
I actually almost like it better now. She needed the ends cut anyway, right?

** Update... the baby woke up and Storie had gotten him also!!!!

Any haircutting horror stories out there?

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today is my husbands birthday.

He is not having a great day... so far he has mowed the lawn, shopped at Wal-Mart for 2 1/2 hours (not his favorite) didn't get breakfast in bed, cleaned out the garage, and the biggest insult, he was accused of lying when I announced to a friend at the store it was his birthday. They asked how old he was, he told them and they didn't believe him. They thought he was much older!

Poor guy. 

He just wants to be 10 again and have it be his entire birthday weekend, complete with balloons, cake, and someone singing "Happy Birthday" to him in a restaurant. 

I'll see what I can make happen...

In the mean time, if you have a second shoot him an email saying "happy birthday"  would ya?

I'd like to spam him with emails!

pbivan@yahoo.com

Thanks all! Have a great weekend!

What a Sweet Dad

This is one of those "I've been meaning to" blogs that I haven't blogged yet. I love family traditions and think they're important to have, and my husband started one for our family that I think it very unique (and precious). A few years ago for Valentines day we stayed home instead of going out (funny how that happens when you have six kids). So Paul got creative, gave me the night off and made a beautiful candle lit gourmet dinner for the entire family. The kids LOVED it! The next year he was planning on getting a sitter and taking me out until the kids started talking excitedly about "Are we going to do that again, Dad!?" And that's how the tradition started.
This year was beautiful, the girls (and Rush) all went to Mardi Gras in the morning while Tucker was at practice, and then we all came home for dinner (My sister and her husband opted for dinner with us-apparently waiting 3 hours for any restaurant was not going to settle with Jeff). Paul made an amazing romantic meal, with name plates, rose petals, and candles everywhere. The kids all got a giant Hershey Kiss (Storie freaked out when she figured out it was entirely chocolate) and we got them Madagascar2 to watch together as soon as dinner was done. This year all the kids each told Dad and I something they loved about us as well! And they didn't just say, "Because you gave us giant Hershey Kisses!"
So dinner was beautiful, and this is one of the favorite holidays for our kids because of how special Dad makes it! Do you have any ideas for unique family traditions?