Duct Tape Fixes Everything

You will have to forgive me for the flood of updates that I will be doing! I have lots, so you're in for some fun reading!!!

A few weeks ago my sister Carol and I and her kids made a trip back to our hometown of San Jose, California. I was really nervous about driving my car. You see it is on it's last leg. The brakes aren't too good, the shocks are pretty much gone and my windshield seal is separating from around the edges causing air to seep in. I knew that we needed to be there and so I said a prayer that all would work out. I even prayed with Trestyn, Dakota and Jaxson the next day just to be safe.

So off we went and my car was doing fine till right before Lovelock. I could hear air seeping in getting louder and was in fear the windshield would come flying off. We stopped to get something to eat and my sister asked me what was wrong with my windshield. I looked and the rubber seal was coming off. I pressed it down and hoped it would hold on, but about 10 minutes after we started driving again, it was coming undone and I had to stop to put it back. I called my sister and asked her to stop in the next town that had a auto shop or repair place so we could see about fixing it.

So as we are driving along, I am thinking how much is this going to cost and how long will it take? I was worried that it would delay us, when all of a sudden a thought popped into my head! "Duct Tape!" "Duct Tape Fixes Everything!!" I got this clear vision of just sealing my window with duct tape! Memories of my dad using it to fix broken appliances, as a quick fix for broken toys, to wrap up a broken bone...o.k. that last one is not necessarily right, but he really did use it for lots of things!

I called my sister to tell her the news! We decided to just pull off at the next town (which was Lovelock) and find a store with the tape. We took the exit and within a couple of right turns we found an ACE hardware store!!! I mean how cool is that! I parked my car and hurried in the store and asked for a heavy glue and the ever wonderful super DUCT tape. I bought it and ran out and ripped over the package of glue and sealed the rubber down and then cover both sides of my windshield with the duct tape. After finishing I looked at my sister and said "Dad would be proud!"

We were on our way again and never had a problem after that. I made it to California and back with windshield intact!

I told Trestyn that Heavenly Father was listening to our prayers and provided a way for us to get where we were going and it was in the form a amazing, silver colored tape.

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"A Night to Remember"

I tell you, kids grow up so fast! Last Saturday, my sister called and asked if I could help take my nephew Alek and his girlfriend Heather and their friends to dinner before their prom. I of course said "YES!" I had a blast chauffering the kids to the resturant and giving last minute dating tips to the guys(open doors, chew gum etc). The best part of the evening was seeing Alek and Heather together, all dressed up, walking towards the car! FUN! FUN! FUN! I do love the perks of being an Auntie! :)

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A Day with Family

I have a lot of cousins on my dad's side of the family and growing up my family didn't see them very much, so it has been fun to be able to catch up with them while living in Utah. We even went as far as to get us all on facebook, so we can get together more than once a year! The coolest thing about getting together is that we just laugh and laugh because, well, we are McCanns' and we're just pretty flippin funny!!! :) This is just a few of the cousins and aunts that got together for Mom's and Carols' birthdays!

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Yup, that's Ryland for you!

My nephew Ryland is pretty hilarious (it runs in the family!) I called him on Sunday to wish him a Happy Birthday and this is how the conversation went.


Auntie Erin "Happy 7th Birthday Ryland!"
Ryland "Thanks"
Auntie Erin "Did you have a party?"
Ryland "Yeah, my friends were there, some couldn't make it though"
Auntie Erin "So what did you get?"
Ryland "I go GI Joe action figures!...I got lots and lots of presents!"
Auntie Erin " What else did you do?"
Ryland "So I have just been playing with my toys and my back and neck are really sore, and I have this pain in my neck and so do you want to talk to Brayden?"
Auntie Erin "Uh...o.k."

Some of us are phone talkers, some aren't! Love you Ry!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY POOKY!

So since this is my blog and it's my little sister Lauren's birthday today, I get to spend a few minutes and share with you all, why I love her to death!!!!

I can't begin to tell you how excited we all were when Lauren was born, I mean the girls finally dominated the family now and would for the rest of their lives!! :) j.k. sort of.

I was so excited to have a baby sister. I loved it when she woke up in the morning with her cute smile! I loved getting her dressed, I wished at times that they had made bigger girl dresses so her and I could match...(yeah, they do that now). I loved bouncing her to sleep. We would put a pillow on our knees and she would be on her stomach and we would just bounce or rock her until she sleeping (they don't encourage people to do that anymore!)

As she got older, my mom put her in the same room with me. I think then that I made myself her second mom...she has 3 sisters so we all had our chance. But Lauren was my buddy and I loved dressing her up and doing her hair, she was like my little doll! She was soooo cute and even though I did get out of hand every once in awhile and her lovely red locks did at times be in the style of a beauty queen's hair in the 80's, we both loved it, it was our time to spend together, at least for me, it gave me the chance to dote on her!

I was very protective of her and I can remember the time I chewed her best friend out because she was making Lauren feel bad...course her friend was only 5 at the time, but it didn't matter, you don't mess with my Pooky. I even punched my brother Greg in the face because he was teasing her(and I'm not a violent person!) There was the time she got bite by the neighbor's dog and I got to lay by her on my mom's bed and hold her hand and try to make her laugh so she would forget how much her bite hurt.

Lauren and I shared a room till I think my senior year! I potty trained her, I found her first chicken pox! (it was on her back.)

When I would be watching t.v. Lauren would just come up around me and give me a big hug and then we would both look in my parents mirror and say how cute we were!! lol!

It was hard to move away and not be around her all the time and be a part of her teenage years! We shared a lot. I remember when our cat died. I called Lauren and we cried together over the phone. We were the only two that really understood how much we both loved that cat!

I look at Lauren today and she is the most amazing individual! Such a sweet and loving wife and mother and overall, wonderful human being! I wish I could take credit for how she turned out, but I think Lauren is just a special soul and Heavenly Father knew our family needed her and he knew he could trust that we would all give her our love unconditionally! I feel so lucky to call her my sister and am so proud of all her accomplishments. I joke that she is made up of all the good parts of her parents and brothers and sisters, so that almost makes her perfect!! he he. So Happy Birthday Pooky! I love you always! your sis. Erin

The picture above is my dad's and my favorite of Lauren, because it just seems to capture all her goodness, sweetness and of course cuteness!

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Her Name is Malia Loo (and she takes after her auntie Erin :) )

I truly believe that everyone is born with some kind of talent and since this is my blog, I can brag that my family has lots of talent!! The following is cute little Malia showing us one of the reasons she is meant to be in our family!!! It is sideways, sorry I couldn't figure out how to fix it.

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And the Saga continues....

So, I was thinking that my strange experiences with dates had cooled off awhile.... well, I was so wrong, because my date with "Skippy" reminded me again why single is attached to the end of my stats (you know, 5'1, brown hair, brown eyes..oh and single.)

Many of you are wondering why I would go out with a guy named after a peanut butter brand, but I am a bit of a softy and I tend to be a sucker for compliments and Skippy had lots to give to me so.:)

I met Skippy at a Sundance party just a couple weeks ago. He was wearing this bright yellow shirt with the words "I see famous people" written in the front, and it sparked my curiosity. So when he came up to me and told me I was the cutest girl in the room and how pretty I was (yup, I'm a sucker!)I gave him a chance. After much coaxing, I agreed to be facebook friends with him. A few days later he followed through with his threat, I mean promise, to ask me out on a date. I decided to go out on a lunch date, they are safe and if it doesn't go well I can make a quick exit.

We met at a place called "Rib City" in American Fork. I showed up and Skippy gave my a hug (he likes to give a lot of those!) We sat down and our conversation started. Skippy is a pretty interesting guy and has a lot of cool experiences with meeting celebrities and traveling. Our conversation was actually really cool and there wasn't a dull moment. Skippy continued to give me compliments (yup, still a sucker!)and promised an even better date if I agreed to another one. As our date was winding down I was thinking to myself that I was going to accept another date, I mean I am adventurous!

Well Skippy gave his final push for a second date and then waited for my response. (Now, this is where it gets interesting) I said this.."thank you for a great lunch and it was actually an honor to meet you and.... o.k. now cut to Skippy/ "Yeah thank you goodbye.." and Skippy starts walking out of the resturant! I thought he was kidding so I started laughing, thinking he was about turn around and say "just kidding", or at least let me finish my sentence. Well, Skippy kept walking and I kept following him, still thinking he is teasing me and will turn around any second. I followed him out the door and watched as he got in his car and pulled out of the parking lot! Right about now, I am thinking "Skippy isn't turning around."

So when Skippy begins to drive away I look at him with this questioned look on my face and I mouth "what is going on?" Skippy rolls down his window and begins to go off on not wanting any more friends (he has enough for this lifetime, I guess) and all this other stuff about being dumped. When he stops talking, I tell him that before he stormed off I was about to tell him that I would be up to a second date!

Now Skippy has a puzzled look! I told him, that had he been patient and let me finish, he would have heard that last part, but now I was seriously changing my mind fast! Skippy, realizing he made a big boo boo, tries to back track, but I told him that a gentleman would have at least walked me to my car! I mean who just walks out on their date like that?! Uh..Skippy does! I understand he felt like he was going to be rejected and didn't want to hear the friend line, you know, let's just be friends thing, but come on, have some manners!

I was starting to walk myself to my car when Skippy jumps out of his and asks for a hug (remember he likes those) and I give him one. I start heading for my car thinking I am done, but Skippy makes a last ditch effort and tries to convince me to change my mind. As I sat in my car and listened to him rattle off his excuses, I finally say "Skippy you talk too much, I will get back to you later, GOODBYE! I drove off just in a state of hysterics!

Every time I think I have met a decent guy, he does something to break that thought. Now many of you might think that I was a bit harsh, but keep in mind that if I hadn't gone after him, I would have stayed at the resturant wondering where my date went! NOT COOL!!!!

Now the great thing is, is that I have a pretty good sense of humor and well, stuff likes this gives me juice for my dating advice book I will write someday!(that's o.k. I'm laughing at that idea too!)

I still think Skippy is a cool individual and one day he will make some girl very very happy...she just needs to make sure she blocks the exit door!

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Are You Serious!!!????

So being in my 30's and single, I have to admit I have been on quite a few dates. I have had some great ones(taking the scenic route to Santa Cruz at midnight in a convertible, still tops my list) some pretty good ones(double dating with my sis to Great America) and then some seriously laughable,tear inducing, "is this guy serious?" not so good ones. I just wanted to share one that happened about 8 months ago. I met a guy online(I know, but I am just keeping up to date with the times)and we seem to hit it off pretty good. We emailed each other for almost 2 weeks and he seemed to get my humor and vice versa. Well, he finally asked me out and we decided to meet at Thanksgiving Point. It seemed to go rather smoothly right off the bat, so I was thinking this was going to be pretty great! We ate dinner first and then he suggested we go for a walk, so I told him about a little hike that would take us to a really pretty waterfall, right by my house. The hike started out well and the conversation was good. I think my first red flag came when we were almost at the top and I was in front of him trying to get up a small hill, when suddenly, he smacked me on my bum and said "keep movin!". "Are you serious!?" Now, I know he meant that to be fun and maybe flirty, but come on, a booty smack an hour into the date? So we got to the top and were chillin for a little bit and then headed down. I had a thing of water with me from dinner and we were both sipping from it during the walk. We got down to my car and he took the water cup from me and was started to flick water at me. Now I am all for being playful, but he was getting a little annoying with it. So I go to open my door and I turn around and he proceeds to spit water in my face...no you read that correctly, he spit water, right in my face! I sorta have a half shocked, half ticked off look on my face as I wipe the water off and go to get in my car! This guy is laughing thinking he is so funny! He goes to open his door finds that I locked the doors. For a second, I considered leaving this guy to hitch hike his way back home, but unfortunately I wasn't that mean! So I am doing the courtesy laugh and smile and hit the unlock button. At this point, I am thinking I will just drive him back to where we met, and this will be all over. As I start driving, he begins asking me about my parents. I tell him a little bit and tell him I was currently living with them! He surprises me by asking me to meet them! I thought he was joking, but he keeps pushing it. I should have said they went to bed early on weekends, but I guess I was flattered that he wanted to meet them and well my parents are pretty cool to talk to, so I decided why not. It would be quick and painless right? We arrive at my parents house and go and sit on the couch and I introduce him. The conversation seems to be going well, we are just chit chatting about stuff when out of the blue, this guy just starts rubbing my back! So somehow from the hike to my house, we have passed the innocent getting to know you phase to "this guy wants to announce our engagement?" Oh brother! So I am like looking at him with the "take your hands off me" look and he just keeps rubbing me talking away like we have been dating for months. I just keep smiling not trying to make it awkward. So the most classic part came when my date would ask my parents questions and if I spoke up to explain something before my parents did, my date would look at me and say "Did I ask you the question?"..."no!"..."you need to stop interupting them!"

Are you serious? He was scolding me AT MY PARENTS HOUSE!!! I mean my mom was even taken back by it! I finally had enough and excused ourselves to end the date. We got back to our meeting point and I said goodbye and as I go to give him a quick side hug, he has the nerve to try and nuzzle my neck!! Yeah, I sent him out the door pretty fast after that! Needless to say, his calls and emails were never returned.

Now, I don't expect perfection, and I can take a joke, but come on, what ever happened to manners and being a gentlemen?

So maybe from now on when I get asked the question " Erin, why aren't you married?", I will simple have to say to people...read my blog! :)

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