A Forgotten Birthday

There are some guys from China who are in town for training at Micron and they've been asking when they can go out to dinner with Ryan and some of his coworkers. Last week, on 2 separate occasions, Ryan told them that Tuesday would be just fine. He never looked at his calendar. So, Ryan went out to dinner with some guys from work last night. On his birthday.

I guess when you've lived 37 years, you need a lot of reminders hype leading up to your birthday in order to remember it.

When you're a kid and it's your dad's birthday, you get pretty excited. After all, birthdays are exciting! You get to open presents! Everyone sings to you! You get to choose what's for dinner! You get to eat cake! To help keep their excitement during his absence, I took the kids to dinner at McDonald's (half-price Happy Meals on Tuesdays!).


Quite a lot of 'smoke' coming off of that train. (The chocolate train was melted by the time he blew out the candles.)

He arrived home about 9 pm and was surprised by Roderic's idea of a surprise pajama party.

As for presents, he got a box of strawberry candy canes, chocolate cherries, a sleeping bag for winter camping and a pair of snowshoes.

Ukraine

One Sunday when Leo was too young to go to church, I sent Ryan this email:

On Apr 25, 2010 12:57 PM, "Malauna Gibby" wrote:

Dedication and Open House Dates Announced for the Kyiv Ukraine Temple

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced dates for the public open house and dedication of the nearly completed Kyiv Ukraine Temple. The public will be invited to visit the Kyiv Ukraine Temple during an open house that will run from Saturday, August 7, 2010, through Saturday, August 21, 2010. The temple will be formally dedicated on Sunday, August 29, 2010.

Do YOU want to go?

Love, Malauna

Ryan sent this reply:
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:32
Subject: Re: UKRAINE!!!

I believe that I do, but I will need to study and pray.

And I sent this one back to him:

From:	Malauna Gibby
Sent:	Sun 4/25/10 3:45 PM

What are you doing sending email during church? I Love YOU!

And that set the ball rolling...he contacted former mission companions and members that he worked with as a missionary in 1993-94. He bought a plane ticket, train tickets, reserved an apartment, and reserved a driver to meet them at the airport.

Returning to the bus stop after the temple dedication.

Now he has returned, so I can blog about his trip with pictures (and his help)!

One I love

Even though we celebrate Valentine's day with these:


And these:

And these (White Chocolate Pound Cake with whipping cream and strawberries!):

The thing that shows me that my husband truly loves me is this:
Oh, how I love a man with dishpan hands!

Word of the Day: Occultation

6:11 a.m. MDT

Occultation: (noun) Astronomy. the passage of one celestial body in front of another, thus hiding the other from view: applied esp. to the moon's coming between an observer and a star or planet.

Ryan has recently (6 or so months ago) discovered Jack Horkheimer's Stargazer Episodes on the internet. If you've never seen one, your missing out. Mr. Horkheimer loves all things celestial and talks excitedly all the time. Well, the other week, we learned about an occult occurance. The crescent moon travelling directly in front of Venus blocking it from view. Ryan figured out what time we'd have to get up in order to see this using this website. 6 am. This time of day comes really early when you retire past midnight, in case you're wondering. As it turns out, it was beautiful and totally worth the loss of sleep. We even woke up Sabrina and set up her brand-new-for-her-birthday telescope to see it. She is now way too excited to return to sleep, which is a good thing because she has part of a project due today.

6:19 a.m. MDT

6:21 a.m. MDT

6:24 a.m. MDT

6:26 a.m. MDT

Valentine Idea

I was reading on nienie and she had this great zip-up sweatshirt on which gave me an idea. I could make one up for me to give to Ryan for a Valentines present! That way, I could be warm and show the world who I love! The words are embroidered with Stacy's embroidery machine and the heart is put on by hand appliqué by me.

If you would like me to make you one, the cost is $12 plus $5 shipping. Tell me the size and color (brown, green, purple, black, blue) of zip-up velour sweatshirt and the name you want embroidered, because I'm pretty sure you all don't want to tell the world you love Mr. Gibby, like me. Order by Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 and I guarantee it for Valentine's Day! Just send me an email: malaunagibby@gmail.com

Coffee Cake, anyone?

Happy 35th birthday, Ryan!

To celebrate his special day, I planned on buying him an ice cream cake from our neighborhood ice cream parlor. I didn't think to plan ahead, though, and order the cake in advance with the flavors of ice cream of my choice. So I went up to "Sweet Tooth" on Saturday night to look at their already made cakes. They had 3 to choose from. One was labeled 'Espresso Toffee', the other two weren't labeled at all. I asked the employee what they were and she said, "Oreo, almond and coconut." Those were seen on the outside of the cake. She almost lost me at coconut, but I remembered that Ryan really likes coconut, so I didn't rule it out. I asked what was on the inside and she said, "I don't remember. Probably sweet cream. It will be a mystery cake." I decided to purchase it, brought it home and put it in the chest freezer, so Ryan would have one surprise for his birthday.

Sunday after church, I invited the Keele family to join us for ice cream cake to celebrate Ryan's birthday. They came, we sang, Ryan blew out the candles, leaving 3 behind because he was overconfident that he would get them all and didn't leave enough breath to do another pass (his words not mine). I tried to cut the cake but it was too frozen, so Julie asked her husband to cut it for me. Inside the cake looked like chocolate cake with oreos mixed in. We gave Ryan a piece, and served the rest and then the complaints started rolling in. They said it tasted like coffee. I didn't believe it. It looked like chocolate. Then I had a bite and sure enough, it was coffee flavored ice cream. YUCK! I guess Ryan got 2 surprises for his birthday.

Today, I plan on calling my local ice cream parlor to let them know that it is imperative to label all of their ice cream cakes. I wouldn't have purchased that cake had I known it had coffee flavored ice cream inside.

Photos by Sabrina

Gelukkig Sint Nicolaas Dag

To celebrate Sint Nicolaas Day this year, we attended the Idaho Suzuki Association Holiday Christmas Concert, where Sabrina played her violin with a large ensemble. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera. Fortunately, Mark from Shoot Idaho came and took pictures throughout the evening, and got a couple good ones of Sabrina. For the ones I like the best click here, here and here. I made that dress special for this occasion.

About 15 minutes after we arrived back home, our doorbell rang and when we got to the door, no one was there, but there was a wrapped present and a page of poems from Sinter Klaas. Roderic was so excited to open the present to find a new ZFeeR (VCR) and DVD player. Ours has been broken for the last couple of months. As he was going to bed last night, he was telling me all of the movies that he can now watch because we have a ZFeeR again. "Dank u Sinter Klaas!"

Ryan dear, your worth is great,
You work hard and play long;
All the children shout when you come home
Now fix that squeak to please your mate!
~~~~~
To Malauna the mother,
To Malauna the wife.
Malauna's a good girl;
She is a delight.
~~~~~
Who would rather read than do
Anything else in the world?
Why, it's Sabrina!
Fantasy, history, science fiction
Diary, poem, scripture.
This girl loves to read.
~~~~~
Roderic is a happy boy,
Who likes to play rough.
Very rough.
Lucky for us his hugs and kisses
Bring real pleasure.
~~~~~
To Hyrum we say,
You gladden the day.
Trains are your ideal,
Just as is proper, for real.
All that breathe are endeared by your smile,
Expressing yourself in 2-year-old style.

A Historic Day

It truly is a historic day. With 53% of the popular vote, Barack Obama is now the President-Elect of the United States of America. He didn't get my vote, or Ryan's, or Sabrina's (in her GATE class poll). I find it interesting that the last time a sitting senator was voted President of the USA was JFK in 1960. They both had a perceived hurdle to overcome with the voters - Kennedy being a Roman Catholic and Obama being African-American. They both can wow crowds with their speeches. I sure hope that the similarities end there and JFK's end doesn't happen to Mr. Obama. I also find it extremely BORING that the Vice President-elect is also a sitting senator. As luck would have it, though, we shouldn't be hearing much from him.

I was listening to Talk of the Nation today on NPR and one of the commentators was saying how he heard on CNN someone talking about Govenor Palin being a top contender for the GOP nomination in 2012 and he thought, "Wait, this election was just yesterday, it's too early for 2012." And all I say to that is, remember the Democratic National Convention in 2004? Right after Mr. Obama gave his stirring speech, the network news guys were saying that he was the up-and-coming member of the Democratic party. And a few minutes later, he was sitting down with a network news anchor who asked him about a run for the president in 2008. Mr. Obama replied that it was John Kerry's convention and he wouldn't say anything about it. I think the media has been in love with the idea of Mr. Obama being the president since they first heard him talk.

But I digress. This election has pushed Ryan over the edge. He has started a blog. You can check it out here. Like I said, it truly is a historic day.

One Popular (assistant) Scout Master!

So Ryan has been gone all week. All week. He went to Camp Morrison Boy Scout Camp near McCall, Idaho. He swam in Payette Lake (even participated in the Polar Bear Scoutmaster watermelon challenge -- Brandt helped push him in), climbed the climbing wall, fired shotguns (he was 0 for 10 on hitting the clay pigeons), played at the archery range (he got 6 points out of 7 arrows), went rappelling on some impressive cliffs nearby, rafted down the Salmon River (again), did some whittling on several walking sticks for himself, Roderic and Sabrina, and lots of talking with boys.

Last Sunday I made him a CD entitled Scout Camp 2008, with the following songs:

• Ahab the Arab (Ray Stevens)
• The Bare Necessities (Harry Connick, Jr.)
• Don't Worry Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin)
• Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)
• Forever Young (Alphaville
• Guitarzan (Ray Stevens)
• I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)
• In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
• Johnny B. Goode (Marty McFly and the Starlighters)
• Jump (Van Halen)
• Mission: Impossible Theme (Lalo Schifrin)
• Power of Love (Huey Lewis and the News)
• The Saga Begins (Wierd Al)
• So Long & Thanks for All the Fish (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
• Theme from Rocky XIII (Wierd Al)
• Yoda (Wierd Al)
• You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper (Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver)
• Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (Ric Ocasek)

They listened to it on the drive there, and sang the songs throughout the week. Today, for the drive home ALL 4 scouts chose to drive in the truck with Ryan instead of Scoutmaster Keele's Toyota. Just so they could listen to the music (and sing along). There you have it. Ryan is one popular assistant scoutmaster.

blog hijack

Dear Dad!

I love you. I appreciate the fact that you showed me how to be a happy father. I remember you being jolly most of the time we were together as a family.

As a child, I recall feeling a deep love of nature from you as well.

For Father's Day, here are some recent shots of our family enjoying life, following along these two themes.

Love,

Ryan

This is just after lunch, when Malauna gave me 3 Fresh Aire CDs for Father's Day. The kids were really nice to me, as you can see. Kallise has been calling me "daddy" for the past 2 days.

Here's a picture that Roderic took today of me and the kids after Church. This is only the 2nd time I've ever let Roderic take pictures. Man was he excited trying to figure out the camera!

Here's a look at Roderic's new sandbox! Actually, it's one of the 'small' dunes at Bruneau Dunes. The kids really dig it.

It looks warm, and it can be really warm--I was afraid it was going to be too hot, since it basically had been 2 weeks earlier when I was there with the Scouts.

But it actually was only about 60'F, and the wind often made it cold on this side of the hill. On the other side--the sun-baked side--the wind was almost completely blocked. So it was 80'F and like a day at the beach. Almost paradise--except for the perpetual sand-showers from the already mentioned wind-storm (what creates the dunes in the first place)

And it's much harder to climb up this side. Here's Sabrina, just having reached the top. For some reason, she didn't want to go down this side again--even though you really can sled down this side at a pretty good clip. Every step sends an equivalent amount of sand to your weight rolling down--most of the way to the bottom. And it pulls a similar amount of sand from above you, making it so that you are trying to progress up a riverbed of sand that you have set in motion. (This side is about as steep as gravity lets sand stack--owing to the raining-sand effect it perpetually gets.) So by climbing this side, we ensure that the dune continues to grow towards the lake. I'm not sure what they'll do when it gets there.

The flowers were in bloom! I thought I'd already missed them at the end of May when I was there with the Boy Scouts. But it turns out we were just too early--they bloom in June I guess.

Thanks for making me like to take pictures of flowers, Dad! I remember the slides of flowers you took when we'd go to Stake Camp or the like, and now I do the same!

Hyrum is still at an age where he loves to pose. And he loves to go anywhere that I go. Right before leaving, I remembered passing these flower outcroppings when we were heading to lunch, so I tucked him on my arm and ran over here (our car is in the lot in the background). He loves that!

Roderic had a lot of fun going down. To get him back up, I had to carry him. This is the hard side. He didn't think it was possible to move up, owing to the river effect that I already talked about. He tried it for a bit. But he's so practical when it comes to finding a reason to let his parents do something for him, as long as it's his idea.

Another example of how much Hyrum likes to just sit and pose. These bushes are beautiful in bloom!

Another, just a minute later. He is such an adorable boy! He loved the fact that I was letting him walk around. The dune in the background is the big dune. I've been here 6 times now, and never gotten to hike to the other side of the lake and climb it. I couldn't get any Scouts to want to do it--they said they did originally, but after playing on the small one for a few minutes, and seeing how much work it is to climb, they no longer want to. Same thing for Sabrina this time. Oh well--there's always next year.

Roderic and Hyrum love to throw whatever they can into whatever body of water we visit. This time, it was sand and muddy sand. They managed to enjoy themselves, and they actually didn't get much on their clothes. Mud that is. They transported plenty of sand in their clothes, hair, ears, etc.

Sabrina had a violin recital this past week--her first with a new teacher, Kendra Hines, she's gone to for about 8 months now. It was also the first that was outside, at her teacher's place. This shows the group. It's weird that she's one of the older, more advanced students in the group now.

Here she is afterwards with her celebratory bouquet of flowers from her teacher.

This was Memorial Day weekend up at Lucky Peak Dam (about 4 miles from us is all.) They had the "rooster-tail" on to let out some extra water. I sat Hyrum on a post to take this shot--that's why I'm holding him. He's a really good sport, like I said.


This is at Jump Creek Canyon, over by the Owyhee Mountains about 40 miles from us. (Fairly near the Oregon border.) We went here on Memorial Day. Malauna and Roderic are facing an incredible waterfall. That greenery just below them--Poison Ivy. It's all over the canyon. (The neighboring creek/canyon is called Poison Creek.) We were watchful, and the kids listened pretty good--and we didn't have any run-ins with it at all!

Jump Creek waterfall in the background. The kids really loved this short trek. (1/2 mile tops.) We're trying to work them up to loving hikes. We're planning on going to Gibby Lake in August of this year!

Here's the panoramic view that I took of this waterfall when I visited it in April of 2007 with the Scouts.


5/20/2008 -- We've had several really nice evening Rainbows lately.

Did I mention that Hyrum poses well for pictures? (5-25-2008)

Ryan-head

What is his name? Ryan Robert
How long have we been married? Eleven years and 4 months
How long did we date? We met right before my 14th birthday. Needless-to-say, we didn't date until he returned from his mission, when I was 17. We then dated off and on for 2 years and 5 days, then were married. If only Dec 23 hadn't been a Sunday that year, we could have been married on the anniversary of our first date.
How old is he? 34
Who said I love you first? Me
Who is taller? He is, unless I wear heels and/or stand on a stool.
Who sings better? We sing duets together. His tenor and my soprano. Need I say more?
Who is smarter? We are smart in different categories.
Whose temper is worse? I think me.
Who pays the bills? Automatic Bill Pay. ;)
Who does the laundry? Me, with a little help from our kids. And he helps fold the clothes that are piled on the bed before we can go to sleep.
Who cooks dinner? If it's fish, he makes it. Otherwise, I enjoy cooking.
Who drives when we are together? Usually Ryan.
Whose parents do you see more? Our parents live less than a mile apart. When we go to visit family, we stay at his folks' house but we spend time at mine as well.
Who eats more sweets? Me. It's easier to eat them, when there are a lot of options of sweets to eat at home. And I can make cookies with my children any time I want. Now I want something sweet to eat. Great.
Who mows the lawn? Sometimes I do, sometimes he does. In a couple more years, we hope to let a kid of ours share that task.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does. But I don't usually get up on the wrong side of the bed. haha
Who asked who out first? I called and asked him, on the day after he returned home from his mission, to go to a concert. He was unable to go because he had to go see his little sister sing in a concert that same night. He asked me to go ice skating a few days later.
Who kissed whom first? It was mutual.
What is my favorite thing about him? Ryan has a way with words. The letters and notes he would write while we were dating and the ones he still writes are beautiful.

Big Surprise

Ryan really likes to spoil me. A lot. Birthdays. Christmases. Anniversaries. Valentines. One year for Mother's Day, he got me matching towels, bath mats and accessories for our bathroom. This birthday was no different. I felt my birthday couch was overflowing with presents from him. And then at dinner he pulls out another surprise.

It's an ION Tape2PC Cassette Archiver. The name says it all. It's a dual cassette tape deck that has a USB cord to attatch to my PC. Press play on the tape deck, press record on my PC and all of a sudden I can digitize our ENTIRE tape collection! You may have noticed that I haven't blogged in a while. Well I have been on the computer. I've just been turning my favorite tapes into mp3s.

I now have the 1993 Utah All-State Choir concert on my mp3 player! The Book Of Mormon Seminary music "Free to Choose" can be played again at my house! Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy", BYU University Chorale from 1995. Even piano accompaniment practice tapes of songs I sang in high school. My playable music library has been expanded!

The software is easy enough to use. I'm hooked. Anyone have a tape they want me to digitize?

Photos from Oregon

Ryan loves taking panoramic pictures with our camera and then use PhotoStitch to stitch them together. Here are some from our recent trip to Oregon.


The lighthouse at Cape Meares.


Wahclella Falls
A cliff along the hike to Wahclella Falls. And then the Falls.


Multnomah Falls
Funky 1970s colors on a shot of Multnomah Falls. The upper falls from the bridge. The bridge with Sabrina and the falls behind. Sabrina, Hyrum and I are tiny specks on the bridge in the first and last photo.

Dad is Great; he gives us Chocolate Cake

I made the most delicious chocolate cake for Ryan's birthday. (Is it possible to go wrong when the ingredients include: Chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding, sour cream and chocolate chips?) Anyhow, last night was our ward Christmas party, and Ryan was too full of dessert when we came home to have any more, so this morning for breakfast we had CHOCOLATE CAKE! Yum, yum.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

I feel bad that the presents I ordered online won't be arriving at our house until Tuesday. I was too cheap to pay the $15 shipping fee to guarantee birthday arrival. (I qualified for FREE super-saver shipping) Thanks for being a good sport about receiving a picture of your present. Its like Fozzy Bear's joke of a guy who was so cheap he put a picture of a worm on his fishing line and caught a picture of a fish.