Memorial Day

How did we spend our RAINY MEMORIAL DAY? With some tasty Navajo Tacos, great friends, and a little FAAR-KLE.

John, don't get too confident in your victorious swagger . That was total LUCK when you got 2,400 points on the turn right before I was about to win.

Aaron's face depicts perfectly the crazy excitement of the game.

Brett and Wilson roll another FARKLE. (Don't tell Wil that Farkle actually means you're a loser.)

Yo yo, Dawg. So, check it out...those Ashbys came to PARTY!

Thanks, guys for a great day. I'm so glad everyone enjoyed the Navajo Tacos too. And for those that are interested--here is the Fry Bread recipe courtsey of Mama Gus (although she claims it comes from the Navajo Elderlies.)

Fry Bread:

4 cups flour

1 Tbl baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 Tbl powdered milk

1 1/2 cups hot water

2 Tbl Crisco

Mix the dry ingredients. Then add the crisco and water. Mix until soft. Let the dough rise for a couple of hours and then mmmm...

Can I come in?

One of our favorite features in our new house is our JETTED BATHTUB. We have found that Brett has taken advantage of this fabulous feature more than anyone else in the family. One can often find Daddy relaxing in the bathtub on a lazy Saturday afternoon. (Comment by Brett: I don't deny it. It's delicious!)

In fact, this most recent Saturday Brett snuck away for a sumptuous soak; however, the little ones dutifully caught him in the act.

They stood right next to the bath--watching and adding their commentary: "Those bubbles sure look fun, Daddy," and "Can we come in?" Brett would urge them to go and play, but they continued with, "Is the water warm?" and "That's a lot of bubbles!"

So today, we decided to let them take their own bubble bath. I think Wilson and Maisy loved their bubble bath almost as much as Daddy loved his.

Is it alive?

Wilson received a bug catcher from his preschool teachers, and much to his excitement he caught a caterpillar. Wilson took the responsiblity of finding leaves and grass to make the larva feel at home. Maisy took the responsiblity of terrorizing it by shaking it around. Our hopes were not high, as we said goodnight to the little caterpillar.

When we woke up the next morning, we had a surprise waiting for us. The caterpillar had begun metamorphosis right before our eyes.

The kids were very excited and I had to remind them to be very gentle with the tiny caterpillar because he was working hard to make a cocoon. Wilson cunningly corrected me, "He's a chrysalis, not a caterpillar anymore!" Okay, whatever.
Because the caterpillar had been closely observed and rattled quite a bit, I wasn't sure if it had survived our domestic gestures; however, we have seen it move a few times (very cool) and so we can confirm that IT IS ALIVE.

Needless to say, the chrysalis has become a captivating part of our lives. Whenever we arrive home from running errands, Wilson always runs into the house and says, "How's the pupa doing? Is he a butterfly yet?"

So now we are just waiting for nature to finish its course. We are all rootin' for Jake(the caterpillar) to turn into a BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY. To be continued....

Wildflower Project

One of my most memorable projects from high school was my flower project. I actually ended up loving this project because I learned to identify the wildflowers of Oklahoma. Ever since then, I have loved flowers of all kinds. This spring has been so fun for us as a family, because my children and husband are discovering the wildflowers and I am rediscovering their beauty. So we decided to do our own flower project. Test your knowledge: What flowers can you identify?


The Indian Blanket

The Pink Evening Primrose

The Indian Paintbrush (Oklahoma state wildflower)

The Bluebonnet (Texas state wildflower)

Coreopsis (also known as Tickseed)

Scarlet Pimpernel? (I'm actually not sure what this is. I did not see this one in Oklahoma)

Verbena

Last day of Preschool

Some highlights from Wil's last day at Crossing Point Christian School, narrated by Wil, with parental notes in parentheses:

I love my teachers. They are Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Smith. I love them so much. They let me play dress-up. Mrs. Ford is always really nice, and Mrs. Smith is usually nice, but sometimes she is grumpy. (Wil's teachers think the world of him and have both done a tremendous job this year.)

This is my class. I love my class because they are all nice, expect Dallas (camoflage shorts next to Wil). Sometimes he is mean to the kids. Jake (back row, face hidden) is my best friend is the class. Sometimes when the girls try to get me, Jake helps me to get away from the girls. Kyle (back row, tallest kid) sometimes does things like Jake, but Jake does those things better. Simon (back row, red hair) was the famous one. He brought a silly toy to show and tell. You blow it up, then squeeze it, and it makes toot sounds. Christopher (middle, yellow shirt) actually does good stuff. One time he invited me to his birthday party at Jump-N-Land. Patrick (on the end, white shirt) is the boys' leader. He tells the boys where to go to get the girls. Jon (tall kid, right behind Wil) is kind of difficult because sometimes he was allergic to cheese, and he had to eat pretzels every time he came to school. But now he's not allergic to cheese anymore.

I pulled up my shirt in the picture because sometimes I just pull up my shirt for pictures. (By the way, every mom in the group was taking that same class picture with their own cameras, so they all now have pictures of shirtless Wil among the normal, smiling children.)

So, I got 4 bugs. 1 was a green spider, one was a blue spider, one was a red caterpillar, and 1 yellow snake. They are all not real. They are plastic toys. (It's a bug catcher that we will use this summer to catch real bugs.)

I really liked prescool this year. I'm sad that it's over.

Shot Through the Heart!

We didn't have anything going on for our FRIDAY NIGHT. So, we decided to go out to eat, and then go hang out at Target. The kids sat in the cart entertaining themselves, as Brett and I meandered up and down the home decor aisles.

We weren't paying much attention to the kids, but they apparently were singing(with much GUSTO I might add) "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. A lady walked down the aisle we were on and burst out laughing.

"Is that Bon Jovi?" she asked.

"Yes," we replied. "The Blake Lewis version."

"That is so awesome!" she exclaimed and began to sing along with them.

The reason our children know this song by heart is because we loved it so much when BLAKE sang it on American Idol, and we've been watching the clip over and over. So, yes! American Idol is fun for the whole family and your children just might even learn a classic Bon Jovi song. Click here to see the clip we have watched over and over and over....

A Graduation Celebration (A Gradubration?)

Our brother Troy graduated from Arizona State University last weekend, and we were able to be there (without the kids). Are you ready to take the Gradubration quiz? Type your answers in the 'comment' section at the end of this post.















Question 1: Mom prepared enough food for:

A. 8 People
B. 800 People
C. 8,000 People
D. Mark and Troy
















Question 2: The Christmas lights in the boys' apartment turn on as a result of:

A. clapping
B. laughter
C. tapping on the table with a cup
D. High-pitched voices
E. All of the above
















Question 3: While cooking burgers, Mark "The Grillmaster" Gustaveson burned:

A. His fingers
B. His "ghetto curls"
C. The burgers
D. None of the above

















Question 4: True/False: Ashley, pretending to lick the charcoal, was bumped by Troy, and ended up actually licking the charcoal.

Question 5: Troy graduated with a degree in:

A. Family Science
B. Chemical Engineering
C. Ballroom Dance
D. Nursing

















Question 6: Troy's diploma is currently:

A. Invisible
B. Stolen
C. In the mail
D. Dragged out of the house by Max the cat















Question 7: Kasia is pointing at:

A. Ricky Schroder(what's he doing at graduation?)
B. One of those delicious frozen lemonades that Brian bought
C. The camara
D. Nothing--she just wanted to be cool.


How well did you do on the quiz? Remember to leave a comment at the end of this post with your guesses!




















Congratulations, Troy! We are so proud of you. We're very glad we were able to take part in your gradubration.

Mothers' Day

Rena Ming, Kasia's mom

Mother, I love YOU--Mother I do.



Amber Ming, Shauna Sparks, Kressyda Ming

Father in Heaven has sent me to YOU.



Dianne North (Brett's aunt), Channa Ming

When I am near you, I want to hear you...singing so softly that you love me too.


Charlene Gustaveson, Brett's mom

Mother I love you, I love you, I do.

Happy Mothers' Day to the amazing women in our lives!

Love,

Kasia, Brett, Wil, and Maisy

Happy Mother's Day!

We love our mommy. Here's a special tribute to Kasia on her special day! Ex-boyfriends from all over the world have sent Mothers' Day wishes. Here is just a sample:

"I'm sorry it didn't work out between us, but I wish you only the best in your new relationship, and I hope you have a fantastic Mother's Day."

--Brother Ricky

"Here's to many more years of great cooking. Thanks for inspiring some of my best recipes."

--Bobby

"My dear Kasia: My three great loves have always been Notre Dame, the Yankees, and you. You're a great mom and I wish you the best. I'm still recovering from my broken heart, but I'll be okay. Happy Mothers' Day!"

--Reege

"When I dance, I dance for you. When I skate, I skate for the money and honor. When I grow my cool little facial hair, well, I do that because it's really fun. Happy Mother's Day."

--Apolo

And now, something from the MAN himself:

"Kasia, thank you for being the best mom there is. Thank you for your patience with your 2-year old, 5-year old, and 30-year old kids. You are the sweetest, kindest example for us. Thank you for you charity and your love. We will love you forever."

--Brett, Wilson, and Maisy

Happy Birthday Scarlett

We just wanted to send a shout out to our cute cousin Scarlett Ming. Happy 1st Birthday!
We love YOU!

How We Met

We've been invited by our friend Emily Loria to share the story of how we met. This narrative will be written by our guest author, LaVell Edwards.


"Brett Gustaveson and Kasia Ming were participants in the typical love story. They were in the same ward, living across the street from each other. The roommates in their two apartments all got along, and they spent a lot of time doing things together.



Brett knew from the start that he wanted to marry Kasia, and relentlessly pursued her until she finally got tired and agreed to marry him. The friendship/courtship lasted about a year, which is eons in the BYU dating perspective.


One particular evening, before Brett and Kasia were officially dating, Brett and his roommate Chris Wayne (who looked suspiciously like Bob Saget) decided they wanted to take some girls out to dinner to a local restaurant called Los Hermanos. Seems simple enough, but things soon turned a bit strange. Here's how it happened."

Brett: Thanks, LaVell. So Chris and I were looking for some dates on short notice.

We had planned on going to dinner with Monica, my friend from Page, AZ, as my date, and Chris would go with Monica's roommate, Jenny. We called them up to verify that we were still on for the date, and Monica said that she couldn't go, but that Jenny was still up for it. So Chris had a date and I didn't. So, I decided to call Kasia (since I knew I was going to end up marrying her anyway). Kasia answered the phone and I told her that Chris and I were going to dinner, and that I wanted her to come with us. She told me that she was finishing up an enrichment activity at her apartment, but she would see who else was available. I thought to myself, "Since when does Kasia choose my dates for me?" But I didn't say anything at the time.




Kasia: First off, I must mention that our apartments (Brett's and mine) were very good friends and we did stuff together (all of us, meaning his roommates and mine) all of the time. So it was not unusual for Brett to call and ask our whole apartment to go to dinner. That is exactly what I thought he was doing that evening. He was very vague on the phone. He said, "Chris and I are going to Los Hermanos. Do you want to come with us?" What was I supposed to think? Megan's not busy, I'll give the phone to her.




Brett: So Kasia passed the phone on to her roommate Megan, who said she would be glad to go with us. Fine, I thought. I'll take Megan and Chris will take Jenny. Sounds good. Ten minutes later we went to pick up Megan, and Kasia answered the door. She said that her activity was over, and she could go with us now! All the sudden, I had 2 dates!! Good for me, bad for truck space. I asked Megan if we could take her car.




Kasia: Hey! I love those speciality drinks at Los Hermanos. That must have been what I was focusing on because I did not notice the strange looks everyone was giving me. I even asked my other roommate Quincy if she wanted to come too. She just looked at me and shook her head.




Brett: So, Chris, Megan, Kasia, and I piled in to Megan's car. Megan was very silent this whole time. We told them that we needed to go pick up this other girl, Jenny, at her apartment. Kasia grew very silent. The situation became more awkward for some reason.




Kasia: At that point, the wheels started turning inside my head. I helplessly looked at Megan and whispered, "Was this supposed to be a date?" She just shrugged her shoulders. "I think I'm gonna have them take me home," she told me while she bit her lip. I started sweating profusely in my armpits.




Brett: We arrived at Jenny's apartment. Jenny answered the door and apologized that Monica was unable to go on the date with me. However, she said, she found a replacement for Monica!! A Swedish girl, the other roommate (who's name escapes me now), had consented to go with me. I now had three dates for the evening. Chis and I chuckled as we walked out to the car.




Kasia: Meanwhile, Megan and I were sitting in the car trying to make sense of the situation. "I'm so so sorry, Megan," I kept saying. "No, I'm so sorry!" she would reply. Just when we thought this bizarre 'date' could not get any more awkward--we looked up and saw the boys walking to the car with not one girl, but TWO girls.




Brett: So the 6 of us piled in the car: Chris with his date Jenny, and me with my harem, Kasia, Megan and Swedish girl. Megan and Kasia laughingly told us about the fact that they both were suddenly very busy with homework and that they must hurriedly get back to their apartment. So we drove them back and dropped them off.




Kasia: We did not laughingly tell those two silly boys anything. I don't remember any laughing going on until Megan and I got back to the safety of our girl power fortress. When we got home we just looked at each other and simulteanously started laughing and hugging. Then we took an oath to swear off boys.




Brett: We then took Jenny and Swiss Miss to the restaurant, in MEGAN'S car. The actual date was quite uneventful. I think I ate fajitas. We dropped the girls off, went back to return Megan's keys, and all had quite a laugh looking back on the events of the evening. I think that's when Kasia decided she would never marry me.




Kasia: Well, Brett didn't exactly exemplify great communication skills. That should have been a red flag or something. However, I did marry Brett Gustaveson and it was the best decision ever. We have been through so much and I feel we have carried each other through it all. Here's to many more bizarre, miscommuncated adventures. I love YOU!





LaVell: So, friends, that's how it worked out that night for our two young lovebirds. I had many similar adventures with my wife when we were dating, but I'll save that for another night. And so for now, good night, and Go Cougars!