Lake time with the Crosby Crew

Reed and his fiance Natali came to AZ to visit along with Mark and Holly and kids. So we got-together at Roosevelt. A lot of us hadn't met Natali yet so it was fun to do that. Here are a few random pictures from the weekend. We missed Kari and Kirk!!

HOLD ON!!

We had a blast tubing! We had some pretty crazy rides. Becki even got to drive.

Grandpa Crosby and Kaemon. Silly Grandpa!
All tuckered out!

Shane's fam
Pretty sure this is the cutest little boy I know!! look at that face. He could be a mini Abercrombie model with that cute blond hair!

Tami and Ryne cute little swimmers
Chad and Milea. Chad is the best baby sitter in the world!
Look who it is!! Baby Zallen out at the lake!!
Reed, Ryne and Shane= BFF
I absolutely love the sunsets at Roosevelt.

100 things

Hey Reed, Kari, Tami, Mark (and frankly anyone else who checks this blog)- Becki and I did a 100 things about ourselves list and, well, I don't think you guys have seen it yet. That stinkin' list took me forever, so, go check it out on our blog. Our blog is bretandbecki.blogspot.com (just in case you forgot). Thanks guys! :)

Trip to Utah

We just spent a week in Utah. Traveling with 3 small children is...not recommendable. Kaemon has a small bladder, Milea is very loud and Zallen has to eat (and only how nature intended) very often. To avoid headache with kids we pulled an all nighter last night and drove from Provo to Chula Vista in 11 hours, not too bad. While in UT, we stayed with the Law family in Kaysville, visited Gma Frost and Aunt DJ/Uncle Jim and family in Coalville, had dinner with Rick and Mickenzie Brooks in Ogden and visited with Kari and Kirk in Provo. We took advantage of all these great babysitters and did endowment sessions in Salt Lake City (very cool live session), Bountiful and Provo temples.

Faces of ZALLEN

Great White (& Black) Hunter...

Here's Dad with his lastest trophy! Its a little baby skunk that's been in our flower beds, in with the chickens, and tame enough to catch!!

We were pretty sure he was to young to 'stink'!!! We think he was an orphan, as dad already caught the mommy & daddy skunks in his live trap. He set the trap trying to catch a squirrel. The other day I was sitting at my desk and heard a noise at my kitchen sink. I looked over and a squirrel was up in the open window, thank goodness the screen was on or he would've been in the house! I'd seen him before in the backyard, chasing a baby rabbit along the brick border! Dad still hasn't caught that sneaky little critter!!

Fishing at Roosevelt

We let some friends of ours stay at Roosevelt and he made us these cool signs as a "Thank You".

Dad and I took a little time and headed to Roosevelt to get a few things done. We decided to take the little fishing boat out and try our luck. It was in the middle of the day, hot, and not really a good time to catch fish. We went up the river just relaxing and casting out our lines. I was so excited to have a bite, but when I pulled mine in, it was just a baby!! I was happy however because I had caught the 'first' fish. Pretty soon Dad had a bite and pulled in a big Daddy bass! We had fun and also had fish for dinner!

100 things about the next member of the Crosby Family

So I wanted everyone to get to know Natali so I told her to make a list of 100 things about herself just like we did and she sent it to me. So here is a little taste of my wonderful fiance.

1. I look for equilateral triangles in the stars at night
2. I hate when the microwave is left with a couple seconds on it
3. I’m a perfectionist
4. I love to dance
5. I am very passionate about music. Music can dictate my moods more than anything else.
6. I don’t like pictures of completely naked babies…not even cute ones
7. Speaking of babies, I’m not one of those people that finds every baby super cute and I don’t usually have the desire to hold them and pinch their cheeks
8. I love France, French and anything related to Paris
9. I eat only half pieces of gum
10. I will probably never cut my hair…no matter how much I complain about it
11. I read 50 books in 6^th grade
12. My parents used to ground me from reading and force me to play with friends…of all the nerve
13. I hate shaving my legs…once a week in order to wear a dress to church is enough for me
14. My pinkie nails always get ridiculously longer than the others…I swear it’s not for something in particular, it just happens.
15. I leave polish on my nails until it wears off…I don’t even own polish remover
16. I cut split ends off with nail clippers during class when I’m bored
17. I talk to my car, Alice…she and I are good friends
18. I love to be alone…I always played alone as a child
19. When I was growing up, I would choose Taco Bell over any restaurant for Birthday meals
    
20. To me, an A- is a failing grade
21. My favorite restaurant is Joe’s Crab Shack…I hope to meet Joe someday
22. Bathroom talk grosses me out
23. I am guilty of falling in love with Edward when I read Twilight
24. I could spend hours on Photoshop
25. I make lists about things…as if you didn’t already guess that
26. I love anything pickled
27. I bring a jar of pickles with me on road trips to combat my motion sickness
28. In 10^th grade, a girl told me that her goal for the next 3 years of high school was to make sure I never got asked to a dance.
29. I love to talk politics and am so surprised when people don’t care
30. My family calls me “Rolley” and “Nooby”…how kind :)
31. I used to dance and sing in the backyard with no regard for the neighbors
32. I don’t argue unless I’m right…so yes, if you are arguing with me, you are wrong :)
33. I love square jaw lines and large veins
34. Bare guy-feet gross me out
35. I don’t believe in Psychiatrists and I almost don’t believe in any of the diseases they diagnose people with…not every single little boy in the world has a disorder…they just can’t pay attention. My parrot Smoochie is the only counselor I will talk to :)
36. When I was 8, I wrote that my philosophy on life was “anything can be won through intimidation”
37. When I was in 4^th grade, I refused to sign the beginning of class contract because it said I would always pay attention and work in class and I knew that I could not promise that and refused to go against my word…the teacher called my parents in and they said they would not force me to sign a contract I didn’t think I would keep and the teacher was extremely unhappy.
38. I learned to speak French in 3 months
39. I am guilty of flirting to convert—but it works, ask my friend Kurt who just got off his mission :)
40. I am almost always the teacher’s pet
41. I am probably one of the world’s fastest texters
42. I have a huge scar on my knee and tell a different story every time someone asks about it
43. I love bisous and hope to make them a tradition in my family
44. When I was in 3^rd grade I sang “How much is that Doggie in the Window” for the talent show and was made fun of for it until the end of my senior year of high school
45. I was the yearbook editor ‘n’ chief my junior year of high school, beating out all the seniors :)
46. Everyone made fun of me in elementary for singing like a goat but I thought they were uncultured for not knowing what vibrato was
47. I was Computer Technology Sterling Scholar winner
48. I don’t weigh enough to donate blood
49. I love Mormon romance novels
50. My best friend in 5^th grade told me she had a secret present for me after school. I went and she was with a bunch of other girls and she told me to close my eyes. When I did she slapped me across the face. But don’t worry…I still have even better mean girl stories haha that’s just the beginning…
51. I was a nanny in France
52. I have a very special place in my heart for handicapped people. I have worked with them a lot through substituting and other activities and feel they touch more lives during their short amount of years on the Earth than most people do through an entire lifetime.
53. I am a strong advocate of Women’s rights…but I don’t think those rights include getting jobs or school admission over men who are better qualified. In fact, I find it extremely insulting that people think women NEED the extra help…If they can do it alone, I can do it alone :)
54. I drink a liter of orange juice every two days
55. I can’t wear belts because my big butt makes them poke out funny
56. I am an excellent matchmaker (ask my sister and my best friend)
57. I see the world through an invisible camera lens, always thinking about pictures I could take
58. I love going out to eat, it’s definitely my favorite thing to do
59. I feel so much happier when it’s sunny outside
60. I always have gum on the coins in my purse
61. I cried at the end of the American Heritage semester and probably will again
62. I love my country
63. I cannot drink a full can of soda
64. I never order drinks because my dad only allowed us to get water to save money and the habit stuck with me
65. I am the defending champion in all the old video games
66. If I had a special power, I would want to bend space and time
67. I have never seen all 4 quarters of a football game
68. I went snowboarding once…spent the entire time face-planting, and never went again
69. I sleep on the benches in the Wilk when I have extra time
70. I played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz in 8^th grade
71. I hate the feeling of getting my hands wet
72. I’m that girl who spends her Friday and Saturday nights studying
73. Going to Relief Society is scary for me, girls make me nervous—ask about my high school mean girl stories to find out why :)
74. I love snakes, one of my friends had a bunch of snakes and we used to hold them all the time, they fascinate me
75. I’m allergic to antibiotics (so I don’t go to the doctor often) and Mosquitoes, every little bite swells up sooo big
76. I want to write at least one book before I die
77. I have never said a swear word in English
78. I love to speak in different accents…to amuse myself I used to switch accents on all my phone calls when I worked in a call center
79. I can make the flower shape with my tongue
80. I am a money saver…although I was better when I was younger. Growing up, my dad used to borrow cash from me on which I would charge him OUTRAGEOUS interest rates…like 2 dollars a day (on a 10 dollar loan) and he would pay it! He was just happy I was grasping the concept haha.
81. I have never seen an R-rated film
82. I LOVE my Grandma and Grandpa Mantyla…they are the best people I have ever known
83. When my house was being built we lived behind it in a small one and every time it rained we had to trudge through like an acre of mud in my yard to get to the sidewalk where we could take the bus…you could NEVER tell what shoes I was wearing because of the mud.
84. I have way too many things I want to do and I can’t figure out how to fit it all into one lifetime: Motherhood, being a senator, being a judge, photography, living all around the world, journalism, acting, singing, learning at least 5 languages, serving missions, teaching dance, teaching American Heritage etc…
85. I hate goodbyes…I have said goodbye way too many times. I am excited to be married so that I can at least have one person in my life I never have to say goodbye to.
86. I have committed one crime aside from road-crimes…but you will have to ask to find out what it was ;-)
87. Speaking of road crimes…I have now been pulled over 13 times and never gotten a ticket
88. I love seeing professional plays (broadway)…I feel like those are some of the only times in life I have witnessed perfection
89. I LOVE Mexican food with all my heart…seriously the only thing I really struggled living without while in France
90. Truth be told, I have only seen a handful of sunrises but I find them to be extremely breathtaking and spiritual
91. I wake up grouchy if I sleep more than 8 hours but unfortunately I don’t usually have the self-discipline to wake up if I don’t have to
92. I miss hunting for crawdads…kids get to have so much fun
93. I don’t really like sweet stuff ie: candy, cake, cookies etc…I prefer all things salty
94. I lose socks SO fast. Seriously I find myself needing new socks once a month
95. Speaking of socks…wow this brings up a bad memory. When I was in middle school, some girls wrote and performed a song about me claiming that I wore sandals all the time because I used my socks to umm…let’s just say, enhance my upper body. I cried for a very long time…sheesh if I was gonna do that you’d think I’d have made myself a little larger! :)
96. It feels SO nice to know I’m marrying someone who everyone loved in high school :) hopefully my kids will have a chance!
97. I love to feel needed, I love when I can use a talent I have to help someone else…that’s probably why I make NO money with all the photography I do haha.
98. I NEVER sit back and let someone get picked on
99. I feel very fortunate that I have always known the truthfulness of the gospel. I don’t let little questions eat at me, I don’t need to know the deep mysteries of the gospel…I know it’s true and that’s good enough for me
100. I get to spend my lifetime married to my best friend and the most incredible man I have ever known thus I think I am probably the luckiest girl you’ve ever met.
101. I am the most amazing girl in the world.
     

Ok so I added number 101, Natali would never write that but it is true. So I hope you got to know Natali a little bit better. She is so great. Honestly I am so lucky to have her in my life.

Since we just got the AC fixed in our luxury sport minivan, it now looks like we will be able to wander into the desert regions. Tentatively, we will be spending some time at the Roosevelt Lake house from the 12th to 15th of August. I know this is earlier than some of you guys were planning, but we'd love to hang out with whoever is able to make it.

So Saturday we went to Redlands, Ca to attend the Redlands Temple and then check out the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which was nearby. We brought a young woman friend from the ward with us to babysit the kids while we went to a session. It was a hot day, but we had a great time. The kids loved riding to the top of the mountain in the tram and then hiking around the state park on top.

She said YES!!!!

It's official...I am marrying the most incredible girl I have ever known...Miss Natali Rae Wyson. I flew out to Provo today to seal the deal and everything ran smoothly...okay you know that can't be true. First of all, I accidentally booked my flight out of Springfield Illinois instead of Springfield Missouri!!! At the airport they couldn't find me in their computers but then figured out the mistake. They said they could put me on a later flight but I told them that I needed to get engaged tonight and a later flight was not going to work. So somehow they managed to work it out to get me on an immediate flight but then on my layover I had to run through the airport and barely made it on time. Then Ryne came and picked me up at the airport but we forgot the ring so had to turn around at Draper and go back!

Thankfully in the end, everything worked out. I set up a projector at Natali's house and showed a video on her wall with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The video showed pictures of us and listed a lot of reasons why I love her. She loved it. Geez I'm so romantic. Then I got down on one knee, confessed my love to her, told her she is the girl I want by my side for the rest of eternity and then asked her to marry me. The craziest part of this story is that she said "yes"!!! We are so happy. Here are some pics of us and the ring.

Did I mention...

that I went to WICKED???
Katee invited me to go with her and Heather and Barry let me Go!! I have know these girls since I first moved to the valley and it was a fun little reunion. We had a lot of catching up to do, that is AFTER we enjoyed watching a FANTASTIC show. I had no previous like or dislike to WICKED. I didn't even know what it was about. Barry at least knew it had to do with the Wizard of Oz. I didn't. I just heard it was worth seeing, and IT WAS. I really do appreciate talented people. I was certainly entertained.

I almost didn't go because I was right in the middle of finishing Barry's office and was running sooo late. GLAD I did!!

Infusionsoft in USA Today

Hey fam and other Crosby Crew blog visitors. I sent an email to a few of you this morning, but I want to spread the love to everyone out there. In case you haven't heard, the company I work for, Infusionsoft, is pretty friggin' awesome. I've been here for about 3 and a half years and have loved every minute of it. The software is for small businesses who want to grow fast. We even have a Double Your Sales Guarantee!

Anyways, check out this article written about one of our customers in the USA Today on Monday.

Trip to the Windy City

So Kirk and I spent the weekend in Chicago visiting some of his family. It was my first time to Chicago and I loved it. It is a big, fun city with lots of people and really tall buildings. AND  by the way, I found out that it is called the Windy City not because it is actually windy, but rather because of the politics- I had no idea! It was really beautiful and wasn't windy at all. 

The bean- which is really a big bean- shaped mirror. Kind of weird, but tourist go crazy over it. You can see the whole Chicago sky line looking in it- or just people that are a little oddly-shaped. Both were neat. 

We spent a couple days in Michigan at their Lake house. It was incredible. This is the view from the back door- talk about being right  on the lake! They just leave their boat and jet-ski docked and ready to party! It was a bit overcast during our stay, but we still loved it. 

Scott, Karen and their son Michael at the lake house. 

They took us to a bunch of cool little restaurants. This little ice cream parlor had the most delicious ice cream. 

This is the view from the top of the Willis Tower, formally the Sears Tower. It is the tallest building in North America- a whoppin 113 stories! 

They had these little 1 1/2 inch thick glass boxes poking out from the top that you could stand in and look over the city. Kirk thought it would be fun to jump when we are in it, but I insisted that just taking a picture was fun enough for me. 

At the top of the tower looking over the city. 

The last day we went on an architectural tour by boat in the Chicago River. Lots of fun! 

Happy Birthday Barry!!

LaVerl is Amazing!

Laverl thought it would be fun to try to hatch out some of our chicken eggs! He bought this little incubator, read lots of info on the process, put in some fertile eggs and here's the results... These little chicks were 3 days premature, they were supposed to hatch out on July 21st! They look a little scrawny and some still have their eyes closed shut, but most are doing pretty well. Its amazing to first see the little peep hole, then they continue breaking the shell in a circle all the way around until the top of the egg shell pops off!! So far 15 have hatched out of 24!

They are now 3 days old and so far only 1 has died, but another one isn't looking to chipper!

These are 2 from the first batch of eggs he tried, now about 21 days old. We found out that adding a little oxygen helps and we had alot better hatch rate. Also, he had to get a rooster that was doing his job better. The old one got put out to pasture with the cow and goat!

Yep, fun times on the Crosby Farm!!