29 Things You Never Knew About Luke's 29 Years of Life

Today marks the 29th year of Luke's existence on this earth.  

He's been alive for 

10,585 days; 

254,040 hours, 

15,242,400 minutes 

and 914,511,000 seconds.  

And I am grateful for every. single. one.

So in honor of his 29th year, here are some things you never knew you never knew about Luke Webb.

#1: When Luke was a boy, he and his friends would stand on a street corner near his house and pull their pants down and moon the cars driving by and see who would stay there the longest.  He always won.

#2: He hates tomatoes.

#3: He place 17th on Pommel Horse at the Junior Olympics in gymnastics.

#4: His biggest fear is that I'll someday trick him into doing a zumba class with me.

#5: His hero is Phil Dunphy.

(Does anyone else see a slight resemblance?)

 

#6: His favorite movies are "Forrest Gump," "Field of Dreams," and "The Sandlot."

#7: His least favorite movies are "2012," "The Day After Tomorrow," and "Knowing."

 (Luke is the baby.)

#8: Luke was an intern for U.S. Senator Larry Craig. (Yes, that Larry Craig.  The airport bathroom sex scandal Larry Craig.  And yes, he was there for the whole shebang. - Or "hebang"... ba dum dum.)

 

#9: When people play with their gum it makes Luke curl up in the fetal position.

#10: Luke was hit by a car when he was 5 years old and only survived by a miracle.  He had to wear a helmet for a year afterwards and got a pretty sweet scar up the back of his head as a souvenir.

#11:  We met Fred Savage at a play in California and Luke walked up to him and said, "Hey!  I loved you in the Wonder Years!"

#12: Luke never met a sport he didn't like (and one that he wasn't immediately incredible at.)

#13: He only made it to his Star badge in Boy Scouts.

#14: He's never seen a "Twilight" movie.

#15: He plays guitar.

#16: His most embarrassing moment was when he had to play a pharaoh in a dance (His mom owns a dance studio and the guy who was supposed to do it fell through so she begged him to do it and he did!!).

#17: His favorite book is "Atlas Shrugged."

#18: The car he drove in high school wouldn't go into reverse so his friends always had to push him if he had to back up.

#19: The only class that Luke ever failed was Archeology. (Brooklyn would be ashamed!)

#20: Luke is crazy ticklish and he squeals like a girl if you touch him under his arms. 

 #21: He speaks Russian and Ukrainian (and he does it so well that natives do not believe he's American).

 #22: He does an awesome impression of the annoying little boy on South Park.

#23: He has hit a hole in one.

#24: Luke has broken 5 bones.

#25: The first time I saw Luke he was coaching a gymnastics class full of toddler boys.  I now believe in love at first sight.

#26: Luke got punched in the face in high school because he took a picture with someone else's camera.

#27: Luke is pretty much a human calculator and can do math in his head faster than I can blink.

#28: Luke was a cheerleader in college.  Yes, a cheerleader. 

#29: He is the best husband, dad, friend, son, brother, doctor, and man that I know.  

I'll love him forever.  

 

Happy 29th, Luke.

Two Peas in a Pod

These girls of mine.

They are the best of friends.  And sometimes not so much.  

They will color pictures for each other and make each other snacks; and then 10 seconds later they're shouting obscenities ("bum-head" and "stinky face"), and threatening to run away to live with Santa in the North Pole (true story). 

But most of the time (the shocking majority of the time, in fact), they are the sweetest little friends.  They crack each other up, they genuinely like each other, and they've each told me on separate occasions (without the other hearing) how beautiful they think each other are. 

But here's where it gets weird.  (By the way, you must know that none of the pictures were altered in ANY way.  We did not move a single muscle to make them match - this is exactly the way we found them.)  

In 2010 while we were on vacation in California, I walked into the room and found the girls sleeping like this:

Then, a few months later we went back to California, and this happened:

Then a few nights later, I walked in on this little scene:

 Then a few nights later, we encountered this one:

 Then, on Christmas eve, we discovered this:

Then, while we were in California in November, they were at it again:

And again...

And oh, how I love it.
Even when they're unconcious, they're still
two peas in a pod.

"Mr. Cam-borine Man"

A few little things about Cameron on his 100th day of life...

#1: "Smiling's his favorite!"  

He smiles if you look at him, he smiles if you bark at him, he smiles if you sit on him (which Brooklyn and Aubrey do frequently), he smiles if you sing to him, he smiles if you walk into the room, he smiles when you leave the room.  Smiling is his favorite.

 #2: He's a champion staring-contest winner

I challenge him to a staring-contest daily, and I've never come out on top. 

 

#3: His celebrity-look-alikes include Mr.Clean (minus the earring),

Vin Diesel (minus the tan),

 Puss In Boots (minus the whiskers),

and Mr. Rogers (minus the hair).

#4: He has nicer shoes than me.  

They were given to us by a dear friend and they seriously make me melt.  My life will abruptly end the day he out-grows them.  

 #5: Cameron adores his sisters.  Even when they are squishing, smothering, and smooching him, he actually seems to genuinely enjoy it.

#6: He sometimes gives people the baby version of the silent treatment.  If you look at him, he'll turn his head.  If you go in front of him again, he'll turn his head the other way.  He has serious attitude, and the girls think it's his most impressive trick yet.

#7: He is super-sensitive.  If you raise your voice, he looks at you like you just ripped his heart out and smashed it into a million pieces.  If you're not fast enough making his bottle, he'll growl at you even after he has it.  If you leave him in his swing for more than a minute, he'll act like you just gave him up for adoption.

 #8: He is the most darling, sweet, lovable little boy ever.

The Patriot

If there is one thing in life that I thought I would never be interested in, it's politics.  

For one thing, I'm easily persuaded.  I change my mind like Cameron changes diapers.

For another thing, politics frustrate me.  I'm a little fish in a mighty big ocean, and no matter what people say, my vote is not going to make a difference.  

And since I'm on a roll, I have a few more things... 

Politics are boring.  

Half the time I don't know what they're talking about (and when I do know what they're talking about, it just makes me angry).  

Politicians (with very few exceptions) mostly just let me down.  

I despise conflict; and discussing politics and conflicts are like BFF's.

So, it's quite shocking (to me most of all) that since moving to Iowa, I've become a borderline political fiend. 

We've attended tea parties.  

 To my surprise, I wasn't bored out of my mind.

We've attended the straw poll.

 Also to my surprise, it was a lot of fun.

 We listened to debates. 

To my very great surprise, I found them debatably more fun to watch than the Superbowl Commercials.

So, this week when we had a chance to get up close and personal with one of the presidential candidates, you can bet I was drawn like a moth to a flame.
I wanted an autograph, a posed picture, and a handshake.  That's all.
So at 8:30 pm, we stuffed the kids into their warmest clothes, packed a bag full of goodies and headed out to a Mitt Romney rally.  

 Considering the fact that we had two kids and a baby in a car seat, we bee-lined it for the farthest back corner we could find. 

 

 That back corner happened to be next to the press box;

 it also happened to be next to a ladder which the press were using to take pictures, which Luke ever so slyly inched his way up until he was comfortably positioned on the best seat step in the house.  (He also played some jedi-mind tricks on the poor intern who was supposed to be guarding the Romney t-shirts and scored 2 free shirts for us both.)

 From our comfortable perch on the press ladder, we were the only ones (besides the press) who were eye-level with Mitt.  A fact that he took advantage of by making direct eye-contact with us on several occasions. 

Mr. Mitt was an impressive public speaker, and it was neat to see his whole family (his wife is darling; and his sons aren't too shabby looking either).

 At one point, in the middle of his speech, some protesters started stirring up trouble.  He handled it like a pro, and it fizzled out quickly.

 At the end of the rally, I grabbed Brooklyn and attempted to shoulder our way through the crowds to get to meet Mitt.  I knew it was a long shot, but miraculously, the crowds parted for us like the Red Sea.  We practically walked up the very front and got close enough to touch him when he started to head the other direction. 

We didn't get an autograph, we didn't get a posed picture, and we didn't get a handshake.

But we did get an awesome night with an awesome man in an AWESOME country.

Twenty Twelve

At the start of a new year, it's always nice to pause and reflect on the previous year, and all the positive changes you were able to make and the goals you were able to accomplish.

For example, my 2011 New Years Resolutions were: 

#1: Read all 4 Standard Works

*I Did make it to 2nd Nephi.
#2: Learn Calligraphy

*Didn't even attempt.
#3: Learn 1 song on the guitar

*Didn't even pick up a guitar except to put it back in Luke's closet.
#4: Finish (and start...) my blog book

*Nope.
#5: Get pregnant 

*Check.

#6: Get pregnant twice

*Definitely not.
#7: Do Project 365 

*Lasted 1 month.

#8: Make 2011 the best year so far.

*Done. 

With a record like 2 for 8, I think it's time for me to throw in the towel in the Resolution department.  So instead of writing out Resolutions, I'm just going to try to have a great year and become a more patient mom, a more loving wife, a more faithful believer, a more helpful friend, a more positive optimist, and a better person.  

Here's to an amazing twenty twelve!