True or False

Tyler and I noticed this little nest in our parking garage. We have had so much fun watching there growth and witnessing birdie parenthood.

One day we walked out to our car and we noticed something hanging from the nest. Well, it was one of the little birds, upside down and struggling to get back into the nest. We watched for a little bit to see how the momma bird would react. As we were watching, the bird fell. It was sad and suprisingly the bird was still alive. We debated whether or not we should put the birdie back into it's nest, but then reminded ourselves of that rumor about birds abandoning their babies if they smell like humans. So we decided to leave the bird and continue on our way.

Later that night we noticed that the bird was back in the nest. It looked dead. We figured someone must have put him back because obviously the parent birds would not be strong enough to carry them ("An African Swallow maybe, but not a Eurpoen Swallow"...sorry if you didn't get that...but hurray if you did!).

Next day we go to the garage to find this:


...actually, I can't make myself post the pictures. They are kind of gross. Your welcome.

Anywho--2 were dead on the ground and one was hanging out of the nest dead. It looks like there was a struggle, feathers everywhere, that kind of thing. My assupmtion? Well, I think the mother killed them. Which would mean the "human smell" rumor is true.

Any other possibilities?

Happy Birthday Tyson!

10 things I love about Tyson

1. He is funny. Even though he teased me unmercifully as a child, I still thought he was funny even then. I remember telling my mom when I was about 8 that Tyson would be a commedian when he grew up because he was so funny.
2. He is a great dad. I love watching him with his little girl. So...there is a softer side of Tyson Hill, everyone.
3. I love his taste in music. He is "Mr. Knowledgable" when it comes to music info.
4. He can dance. I have seen it, and am proud to say I am one of the only few. One night he came home from hanging out and did the robot in the kitchen while he was eating chips and dip. I can honestly say I was shocked and impressed.
5. He is smart. He ALWAYS has sound advice to give and is great to talk to. He is known for this in my family. My parents refer to him as their common sense kid...not sure if that implies that Aaron and I are lacking that...
6. He is an entrepreneur at heart. I can't tell you how many inventions/businesses he has thought up. I will only name one, which is our personal favorite: The Night Bird.
7. He has an amazing truck named Voltron. Nice.
8. He is a very kind-hearted person. Quick to apologize and willing to serve.
9. He is a master-mind at pranks. Just ask my mom about the time we fooled her with a brownie. Actually, I think I will do a post about that story in the near future.
10. He loves his family and friends. Relationships mean a lot to Tyson and it shows. He loves to have a good time and plays hard. He enjoys his family and we are all grateful that he does, because we enjoy him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPECIAL TY-TY

I have given up on trying to rid you of that title...I guess you are special.

Just for laughs

picture via:: Boston Bill

The other day I was reading up on a few blogs and I came across a post by Tartraz who made a list of her most ridiculous dates during her young single adulthood. She suggest others should do the same so we can all laugh, since that's the only good that comes from them. I decided to take her up on the challenge. Here is the top 5 weird dates of my single career.

1. This one makes me laugh...nope, still doesn't. It was right after I met Tyler so my tolerence for other males was low. I got in the car and he handed me a folded up piece of paper that said something like this: "What are we going to do on our date tonight? Open it up and see!" I open it while holding my breath at the same time to find a list of different places to eat and things to do. I don't specifically remember how the decisions were made, but I do remember there was some kind of game involved. I felt like I was in primary. Needless to say, I fudged the rules so a movie would be the activity. And what movie did we see? Oh...Happy Feet...aka a political cartoon full of weirdness.

2. Blind date with a completely negative "I hate life" kind of person. Everything I said was countered with criticism, so I just stopped talking. We were in a large group and played roller-hockey (cool...I know) in a parking lot. As we were playing the ball came my way. I lunged forward to block it and my date ran into my leg, did a flip and landed in front of me on his back. Suspicion leads me to believe this may have been a cry for attention, judging by my size, the amount of force it would take to flip a man, and the fact that I didn't budge when he struck...interesting.

3. Kelli was here for this one. We all went out to Gestures in Scottsdale and afterwords I was remarking on how I could never do improv, just not quick enough. After my truthful words, the ogre of a date pokes my head while saying "You got it in there!". Was he trying to boost my lack of confidence by jabbing me in the head with his ginormous pointer finger? Because it wasn't working. Apparently he didn't know his own strength. I'm not sure how I reacted, maybe Kelli can tell you. And he made fun of my middle name (Jo--for those of you who were unaware). He laughed and asked me if I was from Snowflake (no offense to you northerners, I didn't say it) and so I asked him if he was in 3rd grade. Oh--and he apparently thought it was okay to call me "baby" on a first date...multiple times... wrong.

4. This guy talked about his dressed-up Honda Civic he bought on E-bay and how he was going down to Florida so he could drive it home. Smart one. About 2 weeks later he came around to show-off his car. He put Jill and I in the back of his car and then 'Fast and Furious' appeared on the screens of his back seats. Cool.

5. My personal favorite is Grant. I thought this guy was so fun and cool by his "at church" facade. We went to dinner and within the first 5 minutes of conversation he told me how he calls his little brother a *#!@. Not holding back there. After dinner we went to As You Wish, where he chose to paint a naked man on his mug. Then we went to see the movie Rocky. When we got inside the movie theater he saw that Aragon (that lame dragon movie) was playing. He quickly switched his mind and decided that would be the movie of choice. And yes...we did sit through the whole thing. He then called me about a week later and we had a whole phone conversation on fake poo and the human response. He was a gem.

Visits!

We have had one crazy summer so far due to all the visitors we have had. Every weekend for a month and a week someone has been in town. For some ridiculous reason, I only took pictures this last weekend when my mom, Aunt Cara, and little cousins came up to visit for the reunion and to bring up Great Grandma Freeman.

I must say, I really need to get better at taking pictures more often, but here is what I got:

My mom, Aunt Cara, cousins Lainey, Stevey, and Rigdon got into town Friday evening and we went shopping right away, which was so fun. I don't get a lot of girl time in so I was very appreciative of the time spent with them, along with my mother spoiling me and thinking it was Christmas in the middle of summer. Thanks, Mom!!

Early (or what was supposed to be early) Saturday morning we headed out to Salt Lake and went to this amazing Estate Sale up by the Capitol. Words can't express the treasures that were in that house. Let's just say that we didn't go home empty handed.

On Satruday, we went to the Martinsen Family Reunion. My Great Grandma Romania G. Freeman is one of the only 3 children (out of 10) who are still alive. Their parents is where we get the Martinsen name from. It was neat to visually see how a family expands within a few generations. I loved learning about my Great Grandma's family, since I don't really know any of them. It was only a half-day affair at a park in Murray. The only downer was that Uncle Jack (88) was taken away by an ambulance at the very beginning of the festivities. But don't fret, he is a-ok.

I took work off Monday to hang out with my mom, where we accidently found Cara, Lainey and Stevey at the Gateway Mall in SLC. We stalked them for a while (no, I won't confess how long) and thought it would end fun, like getting an ice cream and laughing...but we lost track of them and found out they were already on the freeway headed home.

That's Cara and her girls going into Limited Too. They have no idea we are watching...mwahahaha

Needless to say, it was a perfect weekend and just what I needed.

Jeenkies!

Anyone else think I look like Velma from Scooby Doo in this get-up?

I liked this:

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

McKinnon Family Reunion 2008

The McKinnon Clan met at Jacob Lake, Arizona for some good ol' camping and family bonding. It was so fun to meet new people in Tyler's family! Unfortunately, none of them are pictured here. All of my pictures consist of me, Tyler, and the most amazing hammock I have ever come in contact with (he brought it home from his mission), except for this picture:

Uncle Tyler with our 2 adorable nieces, Anslie and Kaylee

And here are a few of us:
I always try to get Tyler to smile a "real" smile in pictures. It's hard to capture, so in this picture I said "Tyler, pretend you are laughing!". Much to my suprise, I find this on my camera. This is why I love him.

Our view from the hammock

Our camp was just a 45 minute drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Yes, I grew up in AZ. And no, I had never seen the Grand Canyon til this trip.

And can I say, it was amazing! If you ever want to feel like a spec of dust, visit this place. It is huge and beautiful. It really makes you recognize all the greatness (in every aspect of the word) of the earth.

Overall, a great trip! It was so fun to be with family and in the great outdoors. Next year is a go, right?