san francisco - stewart girl style!

DISCLAIMER: in making this post i don't want anyone to feel bad who wasn't able to come this year! some years there will be new babies, or scheduling conflicts, or missions to go on, or who knows what...the point is, we need to plan something each year, and whoever can make it will have fun together, right? :)

these are a few of my favorite memories (in no particular order.(:

1-thirteen women (ages 13 - 80) pulling their suitcases in single file from the bart station at nordstrom, through the crowded sidewalks, past union square, to the grand hyatt and hearing a young man say, "they must be runway models!" (yes, i knew he wasn't talking about me)

2-taking the double decker sight seeing bus- hearing the screams and laughter, hair blowing practically off our heads, bundled up in blankets (who cares about germs), wondering if we would ever be warm again!

3- brenda and rhonda buying new shoes (not because they needed to wear them) less than an hour after we landed!

4- eating at an italian restaurant and having a waiter (with a fake accent) that kristen could imitate almost perfectly! (michelle asking for tap water, not really :)

5- visiting alcatraz! (having a photo shoot with michelle on the mossy steps)

6- gheridelli square! (amazing hot fudge)

7- the great entertainment while waiting to get on the trolley car, sadie's stinker and violation :)

8- foot massages using lush products! kristen being an asian woman giving a pedicure. crystals strange butt bone.

9- finding carma's home...seeing the look on her face...hearing her stories!

10- laughing with and loving everyone who was there. what a fun group of relatives :)

Until next year...start giving your suggestions...we'll make a date!

megan-isms

megan has been getting a lot of attention in my blog lately...what can i say?

most families have one, but usually they have grown out of it by the time they are seventeen. you know, the person that says funny things that everyone makes fun of for days? this week it has been megan. and since one of her greatest qualities is that she is able to laugh at herself, i thought i would share a couple.

1- last wednesday, 3/26, megan and i were standing in a car body repair shop and she announces, "Saddam Hussein is being excommunicated today"!

2- while we were in san francisco she needed to get a room key from the front desk at the hotel. she gave the man her driver's license...
he said, "what's your room number?"
megan's reply, "i don't have a middle name!"
totally megan!!!!!

you've got to love this girl :)



this is megan teaching lauren to make a peace sign.

good news minute

1- megan was student of the month at bonanza high school for march. the first time in her whole high school career! way to go meg!

2- we got mom to and from san francisco with out any sickness or broken limbs. :) she found her home (way fun), she rode bart, she walked up hills, she rode on a double decker tour bus to the golden gate bridge, she toured alcatraz, she rode a trolley car, she was in NO way an 80 year old! (more to come...)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEGAN...

I can't believe my little Megan turns seventeen today! All right...I know she is taller than me, so she isn't my "little" Megan, but seventeen? That sounds so much older than sixteen!!! Whoa buddy. Life is moving much to fast!!! Anyway, I am happy for her. She is a wonderful daughter and we love her very much! Here are a few of her favorite things this year:

favorite time to wake up in the morning- whenever i'm not tired
favorite holiday- this year, valentine's day :)
favorite season of the year- summer, baby!
favorite game to play- dance
favorite sport to watch- basketball
favorite tv show- one tree hill (my life)
favorite sport to participate in- soccer, i could bend it like beckham
favorite movie- pearl harbor
who is your hero?- i find qualities in everyone that i admire and look up to
favorite food- chinese/asian -_-
favorite subject in school- u. s. history
favorite activity- sit in the spa
favorite book- the twilight series
favorite family member- they're all on my good side right now
favorite thing to do in your free time- make videos @ Molly's house, we are funny (at least we think so)
favorite place in all the world- ha! that's funny cause i've only been to about five states, but nothing beats newport beach
favorite ice cream- cookies n' cream
favorite candy- all of it
any other favorite thing you have- i love my clothes, ha!







HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!!!!

good news minute

i have been a little off my game, i admit, and i missed my good news last week and here it is monday night and i am just posting, but...PRIORITIES!!! (right?) this week they are in no particular order.

1- jon and i got to speak in church yesterday. the good news is that it is OVER! i am just NO GOOD at it! but it is always good for me to have to prepare, i always learn a lot :)

2- a quote by Elder Marvin J. Ashton: (i know it is long - keep reading)

"One of the great tragedies of life, it seems to me, is when a person classifies himself as someone who has no talents or gifts. When, in disgust or discouragement, we allow ourselves to reach depressive levels of despair because of our demeaning self-appraisal, it is a sad day for us and a sad day in the eyes of God. For us to conclude that we have no gifts when we judge ourselves by stature, intelligence, grade-point average, wealth, power, position, or external appearance is not only unfair but unreasonable. God has given each of us one or more special talents. It is up to each of us to search for and build upon the gifts God has given. We must remember that each of us is made in the image of God, and that there are no unimportant persons. Everyone matters to God and to his fellowmen. Taken at random, let me mention a few gifts that are not always evident or noteworthy but are very important: the gift of asking; the gift of listening; the gift of hearing and using a still, small, voice; the gift of being able to weep; the gift of avoiding contention; the gift of being agreeable; the gift of avoiding vain repetition; the gift of seeking that which is righteous; the gift of not passing judgement; the gift of looking to God for guidance; the gift of being a disciple; the gift of caring for others; the gift of being able to ponder; the gift of offering prayer; the gift of bearing a mighty testimony; the gift of receiving the Holy Ghost. We must remember that to every man is given a gift by the spirit of God. It is our right and responsibility to accept our gifts and to share them."

the good news is- i have found my "gift" and built upon it, probably taking weeping to a whole new level! now i need to understand my "gift" and learn to love it!

3- the rebels won (quite easily i might add) their first game in the first round of the ncaa tournament. i was very proud of their play in both games actually. i love my team :)!

4- i am moving up in the pool i entered. (a pool for who would win the tournament) after the first day only christina cox had done worse than me...therefore, moving up is good news!

5- only two more days until we will be in san francisco! (i will miss those of you that can't join us this year...but i am planning on making a yearly trip a tradition. what do you think?)

Megan and Hailey's Spring Break, 2008

last week was spring break for the girls here in las vegas. i had planned to take them away for the week, but it ended up that megan needed to stay and learn choreography that she will be doing with emily in a duet! (i'm not going to lie, i'm pretty excited to see it :)!) anyway, our week turned into Thursday - Saturday, which was actually JUST RIGHT!!! we went back to scottsdale, hung out by the pool, ate, shopped and rested! it was pretty great. the girls actually got along really well, which made it a very fun trip for me. i think going away in smaller groups is good every once in a while...it gives time for some one-on-one togetherness. jon, tod and sadie were having some together time in denver watching basketball games. (for more information go to sydbunker.blogspot.com)



i couldn't resist sharing my favorite grandma and grandpa picture at the pool. i hope this is jon and i in 50 more years!

Megan's "natural" Look!!!

I realize this is the Megan you have gotten used to looking at, so I wanted to post a new picture of her...so you would recognize her on the street if you ran into her!!! She had a little mishap with a touch-up color job a couple of weeks ago---and ORANGE was not a good color with her complexion.



So...after a couple of tries to fix the orange, she gave up and decided to try her more natural color for awhile! I'm sure her hair is thanking her in a major way. It needs a break from all the stress and damage. Anyway, here she is: brown-haired, sassy, and still "oblivious"! (she's not going to like that comment:)!

the rest of the story...

i should have told this story when it happened, because now, this many days later, i have more perspective and i'm tired of all the fighting between byu and unlv fans! but, since i promised, i'll continue! our fight was not with a byu fan, it was with a fellow runnin' rebel fan! coming home from the game friday night hailey made the comment that she hated the lady sitting behind her because she yelled at her all game long to sit down. jon and i looked at each other and said, "you can stand up and cheer whenever you feel like it!"

(side note: we've been attending games for many years, our regular season tickets are around people who are a little older than us, and we have never had this problem before. sometimes we get looked at because our voices are loud like fog horns, but standing up too much has never been an issue.)

anyway, walking to our seats on saturday hailey was looking at me with those brown eyes that said, "please sit by me so that lady will leave me alone!", but as i looked down the row, jon had saved a seat for me by him at the opposite end, and i looked back at her with eyes that said, "you'll be fine! be tough!!!" a little into the second half, as the rebels were making their come back and tensions were high in the arena, everyone was standing and cheering, and the lady yells to my girls to sit down. sadie had had it! she had actually had it friday night, but just kept letting it go and letting it go, so that when she finally turned around and confronted the lady - it wasn't very pretty! (but it was sadie, so you know it wasn't that bad!) and then kristen turned around and told her what she thought, and when the lady kept yelling - all 6'2" of jon stood up and blasted her! (don't mess with his kids!!!) I can count on probably three fingers the times that i have seen my husband this upset. i sat in my seat, (i know you are all shocked!) waiting for the yelling to be over......and kristen turned into her peacemaker self and talked very calmly to her father and the lady's husband, until jon was back in his seat and my blood was boiling! our row of eight seats were now sitting silent during the best part of the game because some lady had been a jerk. really, why go to a game if you expect to sit in your seat the whole time? i don't get it!!

i wanted jon, tod, chad, and i to stand up the rest of the game and make a wall in front of her. aren't i a reasonable soul? tod and chad were offering for her to move in front of us, they were trying to work things out nicely, and i was not!! it really put a damper on things for awhile and i was surprised how hard it was for me to blow it off and get back to myself! sadie shed a few tears; i think a combination of feeling bad for starting something and frustration and anger all built up that just boiled over. that made kristen mad again and she had to tell the lady once more what a jerk she had been! poor kristen, in her delicate and fragile condition, was entirely spent by the end of the confrontation.

we celebrated the win as best we could...but you know! it definately took something out of me! so, a lot of emotions were running high that day. PLEASE NOTE: i am choosing to believe that Lee Cummard's wife is really a great woman who happened to lose her cool in front of cameras and a lot of people. i am believing she is embarrassed by her actions, and if i'm wrong i don't want to know! i am also choosing to believe that anyone else that acted poorly that afternoon regrets it as well, unlv fans included!

as to the question: who are the brawlers and who are the peacemakers??? i think we all have both sides to us. even kristen becomes a peacemaker when things start to get TOO UGLY. i polled my own family after sunday dinner. Kristen, Jon, Mike and I seemed to make most everyone's list as the BRAWLERS!!! Jon considered himself a peacemaker, I also think I am a little of both, Mike made a few peacemaker lists, and Kristen accepts who she is :)!. Sadie, Hailey, Lauren and Tod pretty much were always on the peacemaker lists. MEGAN was in a category of her own. Mike listed her as "OBLIVIOUS" and we all had to agree! Megan said , "I don't get mad, I just ignore people!" amen to that, and it's not always a good thing :)

I am labeling this picture "ETERNAL BRAWLERS!"



and this picture is my favorite of Wink's mother last year at the sweet sixteen! her shirt said "blink, you just missed Wink!"



I HOPE OMAHA TREATS MY BOYS WELL! GOOD LUCK!

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!

To those of you that are sick of looking at my blog because all you see are Rebels, Rebels, Rebels...what can I say? Today was the perfect end to an amazing season.



To those of you that question the home court advantage... Tod said (and I AGREE with him 100%), "if BYU is so much better than us, they should be able to beat us anyplace, anytime." The Rebels have also had some success in the "big dance" lately (2007-sweet sixteen) - BYU has NOT. I sincerely hope that changes for them this year though! :)! (Camie, have a talk with your brother, he has my back)



To those of you that are questioning my obsession about my team...going to Rebel games is a great family unifier. Some families have boats and go to the lake together, some families hike and bike ride together, some families spend time at a family cabin...the Bunker's are Rebel fans and go to basketball games together. It has a way of bonding us like no other.



I have a story to share about this game, but have decided to take a poll before doing so. Some of the Bunker's are BRAWLERS, and some of the Bunker's are PEACEMAKERS. I am curious what your impression of each of us is. So if you want to vote on who fits in which category, feel free. I am curious. Let me just say, if you want to sit in your chair and watch a championship game - stay at home and watch it on t.v.!!! This brought back memories of The Fiesta Bowl, Utah vs. Pittsburgh. Cru-thik baby!!!

Back to the game...My favorite sign at the game said,

You just lost to:
two walk-ons,
a 27 year old,
a 6'7" center, and
a guy named "Wink"

Coach Krugar is the man! I hope he stays at UNLV for a long time! His players respect and believe in him. The fans appreciate his demeanor; even tempered, optimistic, "we need to improve every week", attitude! Thanks to the team for some great fun and fantastic memories this season! Good luck next weekend!





WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

every WIN is a hard fight !

the utes are a hard match up for the rebels. they have some players that look like giants next to our boys! But the final score is all that matters :)!



this man sits a fews rows ahead of us. he is a real fan! he has his own mini-megaphone and actually knows the words to the rebel fight song (i didn't know there were words, i only knew about the letters, U-N-L-V, UNLV, GO, FIGHT, WIN!) he has inspired me, i'm going to look up the words and try to become as real a fan as he is :)!



we will be back to the thomas and mack this afternoon, with as much rebel spirit as we can muster, praying our voices can last through one more game! beating byu for a second year in a row would totally be sweet, sweet icing on the cake!!! GO REBELS!!!!!

GREATEST GAME OF THE YEAR!

ok, ok, OK!!! I KNOW!!! It was scairy, hairy, and unbelievable, but the Rebels left the court with a win against TCU last night. Who would have thought TCU could shoot better than 80% (I'm not sure about that stat, the paper isn't here yet, but a reliable source threw it at me after the game :)? I swear they didn't miss...hardly at all, and if they did they got their own rebound! How did our boys even hang in there? grit, determination, desire, and a never give up attitude. I am expressing a lot of gratitude tonight in my prayers, and I'm hoping for the best in tomorrow's game against utah. GO REBELS!!!

Sadie's Spring Break, 2008

Sadie's spring break has been this week, so she, Kristen, Lauren and I made a mad dash for some warm sun in Scottsdale, AZ. It was a great three days with no pressures, no schedules...just eating, playing, eating, shopping, eating, and sleeping! Sounds rough I know, but it was a nice break for us all. Sadie especially could not believe she was in a swimming suit, because it had snowed an inch on her car the morning she was leaving Salt Lake City. Kristen even felt better while we were away!

Senior Tribute

This is a little late in getting posted, but I have been out of town and it didn't get done before I left. Jon and I wanted to share this; especially for Tod, Sadie, Megan and Hailey who were unable to be in attendance at this years senior day. For UNLV seniors, Corey Bailey and Curtis Terry...we have loved being your fans!!!

Corey Bailey-sweet rotation on his shot/great defender/graduating from college!
Curtis Terry-walk-on, senior starter/big shots when it counted/Megan always believed in you/also graduating from college!!!



This is the T & M on a "white-out" day!



One last attempt to get Lauren more animated while enjoying the rebel fight song! (didn't work!)







And to those of you that live here in Las Vegas, that I love unconditionally...a word of advise. Lose the negative feelings you might have had toward the runnin' rebels from years gone by. They are now your team...this is your home! BE TRUE TO YOUR UNLV SCHOOL!!! :)

good news minute

1. megan and hailey danced in their first competition of the year saturday evening! they did really great!!! it was very exciting for us to finally see the dances we have been hearing so much about. way to go girls!!!

2. the rebels finished with a victory over utah! (best news...kristen joined us with mike and lauren) we are excited for the tournament this weekend. go reb-els!!!!

3. this is not really my news, but i think i need to share it with my family. i got a phone call from keri thurday evening and she said, "we've got a call...it's a pretty good one!" her oldest son adam, received his mission call. he is going to the honolulu, hawaii mission. WOW...sounds sweet! he will really be a wonderful missionary. congratulations!!!

routines

for those of you who are wondering how jon is doing since my post of 2/25; let me just say, "he doesn't have a routine yet." he is busy every minute of every work day and comes home exhausted. the first week he wasn't sleeping much (his body's way of dealing with stress), but since then, when i ask how his day was, he just kind of looks at me with those eyes (almost deer in the headlights eyes, but not quite), and i can see that he wasn't expecting it to be like this. monday when i was gathering up the dirty clothes from the weekend, my heart was a little sad that i didn't have any golf attire to wash. it has been a long time since i missed those :). also, tuesday he was on a very early plane to phoenix (not a part of his old routine). so, while he is trying to adjust and get into some kind of groove...i just wanted to say, thank you.



should almost 50 year olds have to start over? :)

day...night

Tonight, I am TIRED! Thank goodness Heavenly Father gives us a chance to SLEEP at the end of the day. Really, the only thing I did that made me so tired today was COOK! I think I'm done for the next week :). (by the way...i made a really good meal out of the family cookbook last night. chicken milanese. quite yummy! lucy whiting turned me on to the best marinara sauce i've ever tasted...at Rocco's deli on buffalo, just south of charleston. you can buy it frozen. i cooked some bowtie pasta, warmed the marinara sauce-it was good on the chicken and the bowties-and made a salad, a little french bread...tasty meal! jon even said, "who needs mama jo's?")

So anyway, I got to play with Lauren a little yesterday and today. She makes me smile!!! Today I had to run to the fashion show mall and she came with me. I didn't have her stroller (believe me she loves the freedom of walking), so we had to go up and down many escalators (she calls them stairs), stop at Claire's-sit on the floor and look at every bracelet and necklace in the place (at least 1,000 of them), try them all on, and then put them all back. She didn't even want one (i was willing to splurge and pay the $2.50). After my errand was accomplished I asked her if she would like a pretzel! Talk about excited...I think she started drooling :). I got the cinnamon/sugar sticks and she held on to that thing with both hands, and kept saying, "YUMMY!" and "MORE?" She was sticky from head to toe, clothes included by the time I convinced her that they were all gone.

I believe the funniest thing she did today though, was burp in the middle of a word, in the middle of a sentence. A big, LOUD, burp (ok, i gave her a SIP of my diet coke first). It like, didn't even phase her when she burped, she just kept right on talking, never stopped. A proud moment for her mother, to have her daughter follow so easily in her traditions!



We had a fun day, but I'm looking forward to tonight, cuddling up in my bed with "Big Jon", and being able to rest...

For Your Viewing Pleasure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXYwNDrU8k

I was blog stalking the other day and I thought this was worth sharing!

good news minute

Pretend like I am shouting from the roof tops - jumping up and down!

1. I am going to be a grandmother again!!!

Really I don't have to say more, but I will, just for journal purposes. (Kristen finally made the announcement on her blog yesterday, so I felt like I could today.) Back in November our family fasted that Mike and Kristen might be blessed with another child, and Kristen (at least) was praying for twins. I was very honest with her, and told her I couldn't pray for two, but I would be happy with whatever the Lord sent. Her in-vitro implantation was the week we were in Cancun (really helpful mother award!) and we have been waiting ever since. They implanted two embryos, and after the initial tests, the hormone levels were high enough that it could indicate twins. Friday was the day of the ultrasound that could show one or two heartbeats. I have been nervous all along about twins, but kept telling myself that everything would be ok, and her three sisters and I could be a big help.

Heidi you should probably stop reading now...(too many memories)

I called her Thursday to tell her some stuff and when I finally got around to asking how she was feeling, she told me , "not very good." I asked, "how many weeks are you?" When she told me six, I could hear the despair in her voice. (34 more to go) With Lauren she hadn't gotten sick until she was seven weeks and she really never felt good again until right after Lauren was born. That one conversation with her completely changed my heart and the nervousness I was feeling about twins, and I felt we would be very blessed to be able to get two babies with one pregnancy. Later Mike told me she hadn't kept anything down for a couple of days, and by the time she got to the doctor Friday she was in a bad way. He immediately prescribed some medicine and then they found out there was only one heartbeat. Isn't it interesting that the Lord had prepared me to be relieved and disappointed at the same time? Oh well, we feel completely grateful and blessed!!!

2. The warm, spring like weather has the blossoms out on the plum trees! The first sign of spring that I see in my yard. I love those blossoms and they survived the 100 mph winds that we had Saturday night. A MIRACLE!

First Ever Gwa-Pop/Gwa-Ma/Gwa-Daughter DATE!

It has been awhile since we were able to go to a Rebel game. As things worked out today, it was just Jon and I, so we decided to see if Lauren wanted to come. She was very excited to come on a DATE with us :) She loves the rebels (she recognizes the logo), loves the treats, loves the dancing, loves doing the fight song, and loves playing with the bottle of water. She was very animated today so I got my camera ready to record her during the next fight song. As it ended up, the next fight song was at the end of the game. She was too busy watching the confetti flying high in the air and all the people and things going on to concentrate much on her performance, but since it is on tape, I will share it with you! We had a fun time with our newest REBEL GIRL!!!