Pre-employment Slacking

Well, Jon is done with school. He graduated Suma-times-got-his-homework-done from the accelerated BSN program at the Research College of Nursing. The graduates didn't get to wear silly robes or hats, but they did get a pin and a pretty yellow rose.
He'll be starting his nursing career in the Emergency Room at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, MO. It's a huge, brand spankin' new hospital that opened just a few months ago. Jon got hired for the 5 PM to 5 AM shift, so he ought to see plenty of the gunshot wounds and car wrecks that tend to occur in the wee hours.
Since the Tolman clan had a couple weeks between graduation and orientation at the hospital, we decided to loaf around in Colorado where the weather was tantalizingly more pleasant.

Sam was really upset after the ceremony. She had a hard time coming to grips with the dean's speech about the severe nursing shortage in America.

Lucy got blessed the next day, since Jon's folks were in town. She was pretty relaxed, considering how little she had to do to prepare.

Grandma Deanna got Sam a nice book with learning activities that use pictures of Disney princesses. I would prefer she learn how to fetch the remote control for Daddy.

Lucy started to crack up toward end of the 10-hour drive to Denver. For a couple minutes, we could swear she was crying backwards.

Sam didn't make it across Kansas without her own share of mental scarring. She spent a lot of time at her grandparents' house trying to feed and water an ugly porcelain cat.


Sam the veterinarian at the Denver Children's museum. She put that stethoscope on and used it correctly without any prompting.
Aunt Rachel's kids got out the water guns. They're older so Sam compensated with increased firepower. Notice that Dad is unarmed.

Sam with her cousins, Eva and Spencer Terry. That object Spencer is holding is a functional multi-user bong made from tongue depressors, juice bottles and a cereal box. He was very proud, but I'm surprised Rachel let him choose that project from all the options they had at the museum. I would have had him do the hand-painted remote explosive device.

First take note of all the other happy children, pretending to shop for groceries, learning to socialize and adding up their totals to hone their math skills. Then notice what our daughter is doing. I think it's a talent she picked up from her mother.

Nerd Alert

I am not officially a nerd, although I feel like one. Jon hasn't taken the test yet, but I think he's probably gonna score a bit higher than I did. No offense honey, I've always loved nerds!

Well here's her unfortunate husband's nerd score. It's not my fault I know the symbol for Manganese.

Ali's Spawn

Just a couple weeks ago, Lucy lost her status as newest grandchild when Allison (Tolman) Benefield gave birth to a remarkably attractive little girl named Annabelle Jane Benefield.

It's good to see that the little dear is just about as darling as her uncle.

Oh, Jon graduated and got a job, but we'll have more details about that a little later.

Peace.

Nice day for a ...white blessing

We finally blessed Lucy at church this past weekend. Jon's folks and sister Emily came out for the occassion. The group picture was taken by the very large Polynesian man in our ward who got in a fist/crutchfight during Sunday School a few weeks ago.



We have better pictures of Lucy, but this one seems kind of Vogue.

This is what happens when you let a bald man do your daughter's hair.

This is Jon's sister, Emily. She's single, she enjoys long walks on the beach, pretzels and sacrificing children to her heathen god.

COPS

This post is actually being written by me, Becky. I think this is the first one I've actually written, but I have good reason this time. So yesterday I needed some "alone time" so I ventured out on my own to Wal-Mart to get an oil change on my car and to waste some time looking at bath towels and things. So I drop the car off with the ever-rude 16-year old working in the automotive department who tells me that it will take 60 minutes. That alone was annoying, but he failed to tell me that the 60 minutes started AFTER the entire automotive department was taking an hour-long lunch break. You'd think by going to get an oil change at 3 pm you'd miss the company-lunch break, but not at our "friendly" Wal-Mart. So anyways, I decide to wander around the store, check out the Clearance aisle, fun things like that. So I'm walking down the main aisle in the back of the store, the one with a right and left side with bins and displays down the center, right? So I'm walking, wondering what I'm going to do to pass the time when I remember that the Clearance aisle is to my right in this store so I make a somewhat sudden jolt from the left side of the walkway to the right side. Just as I do this, I look up to see that the person walking toward me is a police officer. So we make eye contact as I'm quickly crossing to get out of his way and into the right aisle. I thought for a split second about how it looked funny that I looked up and right as I saw him I bolted out of sight, but I didn't think about it too much as my eyes caught a handy foot stool that I've been needing.
I stop to look at the footstool and as I do, I see that the officer has followed me to the aisle and has stopped innocently at the end to all-of-the sudden stare up at the ceiling. So as I am examining the footstool and seeing how it folds and unfolds to fit nicely under my sink, the officer turns to get a good look at my suspicious person.
Anyways, I didn't get the footstool. I didn't even have a cart. Apparently this made me look even more guilty. Normally I get smiles and comments and feel very motherly as I shop at Wal-Mart with my two little girls, so it felt weird that he would even target me as suspicious.
So I finally make it to the clearance aisle where I thought I had lost him. I took my sweet time looking at everything from the opened bottles of lotion that they try to re-sell to the sheets and bedspreads. I actually found some things and had my hands loaded up with toys and junk as I moved my way on to find a cart to dump them in. As I walk away I see that indeed, I had not lost the nice officer, he was just waiting on the other side of the aisle until I was done, which now I was, so he slowly turned to follow me to the front of the store. Of course on this day no one had decided to abandon their cart so I had to go to the doors at the front and again, as my luck would have it, the only free carts were on the other side of the detectors that beep if you take things out without paying for them. So I walk to the other entrance to see if there are any carts there, again, no luck. So this cop is still behind me and sees me go to one entrance, stop, turn around and go to the other entrance, with the still un-paid-for items in my hand. Anyways, to wrap things up, there was no arrest and no pat down. I eventually lost him. I did however, get two house keys made while I sat and waited for the oil change on my Toyota Corolla.

Hurl

Lucy's been fairly pukey for the last couple weeks. We don't think it's because we let her watch "America's Next Top Model", but we're not ruling it out as a possiblity. She has an uncanny knack for throwing up at the precise moment you're switching her to your other shoulder or right after you've changed her into a clean outfit. I suppose vomit is as good a fluid as any to express spite.

"Target sited. Emessis armed."

Sam can hold and aim her like a Gatling gun.

This has absolutely nothing to do with ralphing. This is the amazing lemon merigue pie that Becky made. So sweet. So sublime. Or is that sublemon?