Barack-O-Bono....and Bono comes for dinner!

so,

here's the scoop on "Barack-O-bono"

It's no secret that we are die hard fans of the group U2...that's right, Aaron, joni and Oliver (eliza has yet to have been wooed).

Aaron's fascination came when he was just a little tyke. It has escalated into something I have never known before...until I met Aaron.
He knows every song, he knows every album, he knows EVERYTHING (a lot anyway :O) about U2. It is ALL we listen to, unless I change things up....that's 99.9% ok with me most of the time :O)

My fascination came when I met Aaron and listened to him play their songs on his guitar and sing them also (he's really good, but I think only his sister and I have been allowed to hear him really rock out...) He secretly wishes he could be on stage doing just what bono is doing... (don't tell him I said that :O)

Oliver was introduced at the young age of a NEWBORN! Seriously. This is how Aaron would put him to sleep sometimes. He'd turn on the DVD of their last tour "vertigo"....and all the lights, guitars and singing would slowly help oliver drift into sleep!
To this day Oliver LOVES U2....
he especially LOVES bono (lead singer...I'm sure you got that) and the edge (their guitar player).
I can't remember if I mentioned it in my Halloween post, but that is what oliver REALLY wanted to be for Halloween. I wasn't sure how to make it work, so we went for the second best thing "the dread pirate roberts"... Anyway,
Oliver loves loves LOVES bono.
When his friends come over, he often times wants to put that same dvd in (vertigo tour), and watch it with them.
He really has watched the whole dvd before~ and still wants more when its done.
He notices the tiniest little details about the whole group from what they're wearing, how they are standing, to how they sing...everything. He especially gets bothered when bono takes off his glasses...he really likes bono with the cool shades.
He can sing parts of all of their songs and always wonders what they mean...so it is fun to try and tell him what certain things mean, and why bono uses certain words...eg: "tough...you think you got the stuff...." He just really wants to know what that means. His favorite is "in the city of blinding lights"...and sings "OH...You..Look..SO...BEAUTIFULLL tonight..." (very cute), he also loves the "little sister" song and he always says that that one is for eliza...since he says "little sister". He'll say "sister, sister...this is your song".
One song even talks about a monster....and he likes that a lot too!

Anyway~this kid is over the moon for bono. His friends know this as well.

Now back to this posts title... Oliver has a friend, we'll just call her "little :O)".
Ps. This all happened a while back, but due to the inauguration yesterday~
it fits nicely into this post.

So, a while back, Little (who was 2 and 1/2 at the time) was talking to her mom and dad, and they asked her what the name of our next president of the United States was going to be?
To that she said "BARACK-O-Bono!"

Her parents got a kick out of this, because she most certainly heard about Bono from Oliver, and she just kind of put the two of them together (Obama , o-bono...sounds close enough, right!!!)
Anyway, isn't that funny? I thought/think it is really hilarious. I love saying it in my head because it really rolls of the tongue so smoothly...it really is just fun to say.
Go ahead say it in your head: "Barack-O-Bono"....wasn't that fun!

As for dinner lately...you definitely read that right, Bono has been joining us for dinner every night since Sunday (I believe).

We get a knock on the door just around dinner time, and it's always Bono! We invite him in, he sits down with us, talks with us, and eats with us. Oliver tells him all about his latest thoughts, discoveries and milestones!

It's really cute.

It's funny when oliver pretends because he is always very quick to remind us that he is "just pretending".... as if we were wondering if he was really being serious :O)

Isn't that cute.

I love oliver so much.

Oh, and Bono doesn't just come for dinner anymore, he also comes for snacks, breakfast and play time too.

It is kind of sad though because oliver REALLLY REALLLY wants bono to, FOR REAL, come for dinner and to come "sleep" at our house.

We asked him once that if Bono came to stay with us if it would be ok if bono slept with oliver in his bed. He wasn't sure about that, so he said that he could sleep with eliza in her crib...or on the couch. We thought that was hilarious...Just something that is really funny to picture.

I wish he could really meet bono. That would be so so SO AMAZING!

You never know, if they continue on going and going as they always seem to be doing...oliver just might get to go to a concert when he is a little bit older....maybe even 10 or something :O)

Ok...I think I am done with all of the Bono stuff :O)

But speaking of the new president, I really am excited to have Barack Obama as our president. And for some reason, even more so than having him as "the commander in chief"....I'm excited that Joe Biden will be our Vice President. Aaron thinks I'm weird for thinking Joe Biden is amazing. Do I stand alone?....I don't know, there is just something about him that I really love. He just seems so real, he has a grumpy looking face sometimes...but for whatever reason, my heart thinks he is really incredible. And every time I see him on tv, I wish I could give him a big hug and tell him that I think he is really great.

Onto family "news"....

Oliver learned an AMAZING skill today!!!! He can pump himself on the swing!!!!!! ISN'T that AMAZING!!!

I couldn't believe it. The first thing he said was "this is so fun", and then after he had done it for quite some time, he got kind of limp and said "I'm really tired"....

he worked so hard to get it down. He hasn't really cared too much about it before, but now he just keeps trying and trying and loves to feel himself get higher All on his own!

Man its fun to watch your kids learn new things!

ok, well, I think I should jet.

I've started studying for nursing school (starts in April)... and it's been really really fun. I'M SO EXCITED FOR NURSING SCHOOL TO START!!!!

I seriously am so anxious to begin this new chapter....I know it won't be anything like I expect (at least that is what I am expecting :O)...but I hope I love it, I really hope I love it, because I really want to!

out for now!

sly,

joni ann

thanks grandma j and grandpa jon....

Oliver's Pride and Joy :O)

the following pictures are of the fire station oliver built for his very cool

NEW fire truck!!!!

He seriously loves it so much...and it is so heavy duty too!

Family Outing to Campus!!!!

We played in the fountains and went to the bell tower and post office!!!

Well (back to the fire truck story :O),

It was a lovely afternoon, and I was just getting ready to put oliver down for his nap. I heard a "thump" by our front door, so I went to check it out ( I had a feeling it was something fun! :O)

Anyway, I was right!

There was a nice little box, and it was addressed to Oliver!

I showed him the box and HE COULDN'T WAIT to open it. We finally got it open...and guess what was inside?????

A REALLY COOL WOODEN FIRE TRUCK!!!!!!

Oliver couldn't believe it!!! He was just so excited and kept saying he wanted to build a fire station so it could have a place to park!

It was really cute.

Anyway, I tried to then put him down for a nap....of course it wasn't working because he just couldn't think about anything but that fire truck.

I finally talked him into the nap....but as soon as he woke up that was the first thing out of his mouth.... he just wanted to build a fire station.....

So here are the pictures of the VERY COOOOOL fire station that we built!

Ever since the fire truck has arrived it has been "the beloved toy". I love seeing him be so imaginative with his fire truck. He puts a pig on the ladder and takes it for rides (but also tells it to be careful up there because it's dangerous :O). He just loves it. When he goes up to go potty, he takes it with him.

So, thanks grandma j and grandpa jon for the belated Christmas Present!!!! It has definitely been a favorite!

sly

I am officially lonely...

may 8th, 2004
Mr. and Mrs.
(finally :O)

SO..
here's the deal,
Aaron's gone and I'm a little lonely....
so this was something to cheer me up a bit
and get me all excited to see him tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

jan. 2003
we slept outside
IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
in the middle of January
um...we weren't really even dating
(thus no smoochin went on that night I promise :O)

engagement picture...

Yellowstone again :O)

May 2004
Alaska
We lived there over the summer after we just got married.
We lived in a house with a bunch of boys. It was like a dorm set up and really not the most exciting for a very newly wed couple.
It's very fun to look back on now :O)

Alaska
Sleeping on the beach at Fox Island
(that was fun :O)
too bad I was camera illiterate
(I shrunk ALL/most of our pictures on accident...now they all look like this :O(

Alaska
Talkeetna Lodge
Our little getaway from the "dorm"!!!!!

ok,

so I know I'm lame. Aar left yesterday morning for Florida....
yesterday was really good, today was really good too. But now I'm lonely. It's 10:31pm...and I'm lonely and bored.
When he goes out of town I stay up as late as I can until I can fall asleep...not sure why I do this. Maybe it's some weird defense mechanism (I need to keep watch over the children to make sure everybody is ok, if I fall asleep I feel so vulnerable.....does anybody else feel this way?)
I end up watching Jay Leno every time he goes out of town (which is maybe twice a year!)...anyway, I think it's funny that I always end up doing the same things.

Anyway, I feel sad.

Maybe I'll post pictures of he and I....maybe that will make me feel better.

When he is gone I realize how different we are. We really are so different.

He was the kid in school that on the first day of school when homework and major projects were assigned he had them allllll done in just a FEW days (tops).
I on the other hand was the polar opposite. I got projects and homework done...but I stayed up all night doing so.

Where does his motivation come from...? I really would like to know. Many people could benefit from this if we only knew his "secret" :O)

Because of this attribute of his.... I think he is the best husband/father a wife and children could ask for...maybe not for everybody, but for me it was a perfect match :O)....

He is never pressed for time when it comes to his "work". He always has things done and never frets that he may not be able to FINISH something. He may fret at how everything will turn out because yes he is a perfectionist....but never that he will not be able to finish something.

His time is prioritized to a science. If he does work at home, it's usually just because he is interested in all of the problem solving that it takes to accomplish whatever research project he is doing.
This makes it perfect for hanging out with the kids. Even though he has a lot on his plate, he manages to get everything done way in advanced so he can be with us.

He definitely has OCD about many things (this is no secret...he would be the first to tell you :O).

We were running the other day and I had to laugh because for some reason at that point in time it really hit me just how OCD he is.
He can't have "NOTHING" going on....something always needs to be figured out in his brain. When we are on vacation, or he has a break...the first thing he does (subconsciously of course) is figure out something to figure out and then perfect it!
Examples:
. buying the perfect car: He made so many charts and graphs I couldn't believe it. He needs to know everything about everything before he will make a decision...it's a game to him.
. Finances: If ever he is bored, you will definitely be able to find him researching about the best way to do finances. Our "budget" could be a template for some finance magazine I'm sure...he's been perfecting it since we got married, and he seems to always be finding ways to do things better. His system is calculated very carefully...and I think it is really impressive.
. BIKES: We really love the "free-energy" lifestyle idea. Aar started commuting to work in the summer of 2007. Ever since then he has biked to work nearly every time he has gone in. His bike has finally bit the dust...so over the last few months most of his free time has been dedicated to finding the perfect bike.
He found it (after I told him that he better take a leap of faith or else he may never end up with ANY bike at all :O). He/we chose the SURLY LONG HAUL TRUCKER! It's a sweet bike that is great for basically everything. It's a touring bike.
It should be coming sometime this week...so we are both very excited for him to get it! I was going to get one too....but Surly doesn't change much year to year...so we'll just wait on mine :O)

Aaron really is an amazing man. He loves our kids so much and I love watching him love them. He and oliver have always been reallllly close. Their minds think very much alike. Aaron loves eliza so much. Randomly throughout the day he will say out loud "she is just so pretty"..."don't you think she is just so pretty?"
He had a hard time saying good night to them the day before he left....he got up at 4 the next morning and was unable to tell them good bye. Anyway, it was really hard on him. He didn't want them to go to bed at all...he even decided to have a little ice cream party right as I was finally about ready to put them to bed.
He just didn't want to miss out on any time. It was really sweet.
He loves them so much.

This has kind of ended in an even more cheesy post than I intended.

Anyway, I think I am tired enough that I just might be able to go to bed....we'll see :O)

good night!
sly

Little People...

Here are some pictures of "the little people" that I made for our kids for Christmas. They are inbetween 2.5 and 3 inches long (depending on the one :O)

They are supposed to be US!

It was a really fun project for me...and I have a lot more in the process of being finished!
Enjoy!
sly

The family!!!!

AARON

JONI

OLIVER

ELIZA