In Case I Want to Hang Out on My Porch All the Time....

I'm all equipped with a microwave out there....

...ya know, for popping my popcorn, making hot pockets, melting cheese, and heating water for my cocoa.

Heck!  I'd never have to leave the porch!

But, wait!  WHY is there a microwave on my porch?!?
The truth is....it just randomly appeared there this afternoon.

At first I thought, Oh no!  Is Kyle getting asked to a dance?  He's not 16 yet - he won't be able to go!  (We don't date until age 16).  No, that's not right - the next High School dance is PROM, and that's boy's choice....

But then I saw the tag was addressed to, "Kevin" and I was like, Oh...they got the wrong house!

But then Kyle informed me that he goes by that name sometimes.  WHAT?!?  Well, that's news to me!

So, I'm standing there looking out onto our porch in utter dumbfoundedness, and Kyle is completely amused by it.

He said this microwave was definitely for him.  (Apparently, it's a inside joke.)

It looked all clean and new, though - doesn't somebody need this?  Is some teenager's parent wondering at this very second, as they're trying to make some cup-o-noodles, Hey, what happened to our microwave?

So, Kyle attempted to explain.....it has something to do with him wearing yellow jeans and a whale tie to school, a fictitious business he owns selling microwaves (with a partner), discussions about the proper name to call your boss, and another family renovating their kitchen due to a short in their [faulty] microwave.

{Huh???}
CLEAR AS MUD, right?!?

Anyway, I guess it doesn't need to be returned (he figured out the 3 girls who did it, and they said they don't need it) - so we're now officially the proud owners of a porch microwave to make our house look REAL NICE (said in Cousin Eddie's [from Christmas Vacation] accent/voice!) and white trashy.  ;)

I decorate with newspaper clippings taped to my door. I DECORATE with NEWSPAPER clippings TAPED to my door??

I walked down the hall to my bedroom this week, and this is what I saw...

Here's a closer look...

Can you guess who it was from?!?

I knew right away that this was a "friendly" gesture from our own resident High Schooler, a Viewmont Viking (I can hardly utter the words!), to his mother, a Bountiful Braves Alumni.

(The two schools happened to have the biggest rivalry going on back in my day.)
I hear things are a little different today, though.

His siblings also experienced great delight in the joke that was played on Mom! A good ol' Rub in the Face. (Notice how he underlined the word, "again.")

I ask -- WHERE have I gone wrong as a Mother?!? Apparently I have not passed on to my offspring a proper love of "the mighty Red and Gray." WHY are they not bowing down three times and singing the praises of BHS every time we're in the neighborhood and drive by my awesome High School? And, even worse, WHY are they fond of the enemy?

I tried to tell them when I was doing my recent Triathlon, the running route took me right up the street in front of that other school (Viewmont), and it was like Kryptonite to my body. While VHS was in sight, I. COULD. NOT. RUN. FAST(ER). Walkers were passing me!
Seriously, it was the slowest leg of my run. My feet were in cement - all the positive energy was drained right out of me.

They didn't believe me one bit.

They attributed my weakness to a myriad of other things (age, uphill conditions, improper breakfast, the weather, a Monday morning, weight, inexperience, non-athleticism, bad hair day, Facebook illiterate, etc.)

But that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

The newspaper clipping "accidentally" ended up in the garbage.
Tragic! :)

I'm a Mean Ol' Witch with a Hat...

I've had this Halloween decoration hanging on my wall at home this month.

Sometimes it looks like this....

And sometimes it looks like this...

I am not changing it.
I wonder who secretly IS?

And which member of my household they are referring to? :0

We've Been "Chalked!"

But, I'd say that's certainly better than being robbed!

Here are the results of someone's anonymous "Act of Kindness."

Although, it wasn't so "anonymous" afterall. We foiled their plan to do it all quietly as our family slept inside our [unlit] home late Saturday Night. Because, in reality, we were NOT inside, but were returning home, way PAST all our children's bedtime, and caught them right in the act as we approached our driveway! :) As we were coming up the street, we saw a half a dozen or so Young Adults gathered in our driveway and we didn't know WHAT THE HECK was going on! Were they choosing that spot to do/deal drugs? Or was a big "confrontation" amongst them about to take place? Or were they getting ready to egg our home? Were they waiting for us... to beat us up?

Matt rolled down his window as he pulled in next to them, ready to tell them to, "SCRAM!" I even think he was about to YELL something like, "Get outta HERE!" (that would've been a History-making moment!) But, then we recognized a couple of the girls, and one of them confessed, in her sweet, innocent voice, "Oh, dang! We wanted to surprise you! We were almost done." We proceded on into the garage and went inside to leave them alone to finish the "job." ;)

I chuckled at this one when I saw it...
They had written ALL of our children's names on the driveway: Ryan, Kyle, Haylee, & Katelyn, but apparently they couldn't remember Brookelle's name, (since EVERYONE always tells me "it's so different") but they included her anyway! :)

Is this the "new" Toilet Papering?