Robert 25 Things

1. Robert has only four senses--he cannot smell.

2. Robert's older sister has tried to hit him with a shovel.

3. Robert is a very good salesman. When he talks people listen, and he has a way of making what he wants you to do sound so darn reasonable. But if you are feeling a little unreasonable that day, he may leave approximately 500 pest control fliers on your lawn.

4. Robert will come very, very close to punching you in the face if you jump out from behind a wall to scare him. It is not recommended, but very funny.

5. Robert is a natural leader under pressure. He usually stays very calm and is good at directing others. Again, people just listen to him. In an emergency I would want to be with my brother.

6. Robert has owned/caught many snakes, lizards, and turtles. I have been on many a snake hunting excursion with him and loved every one, except perhaps the one where we almost drove off a small cliff.

7. Robert likes to eat in the middle of the night. He used to take me to 7-11 at midnight on Sunday night (technically Monday morning) to get Slurpees. Another favorite late night meal was party pizzas and raspberry sticks.

8. Robert sometimes gets migraines. Like if he gets pulled over for speeding in my car and the officer keeps the spotlight shining right in his eyes the whole time because he doesn't like this arrogant young man--he might get a migraine then.

9. Robert saved his youngest sister's life twice (yeah, that's me). Once he jumped into a pool to pull me out when I was 2 or 3, and the other time he jumped into a river when the current had me stuck under a rock and yanked me out. Those two times were the physical, but there have been countless other ways he saved that girl.

10. Robert had a dog named Teddy. Teddy could not run straight, he could only run sideways. Robert has vowed to never have another dog.

11. Robert was the captain of his highschool basketball team. This may or may not have contributed to girls befriending me in the hopes of getting closer to my bro.

12. Robert is a good cook. He is very particular about his food, so instead of having someone screw up his meal he just learned to cook for himself. And he puts Lawrey's Seasoning Salt on everything.

13. Robert used to work as a snowboarding instructor. He tried to teach me how to snowboard once. He must have not been a very good instructor because I ended up taking off the board, sitting on it, and sledding down the mountain. He was definitely good at snowboarding however. At least I was impressed with his crazy tricks.

14. Robert is not someone you want to get into an arguement with--at least not if you want to win. Robert loves to argue (something all of us kids inherited from the Beeson side) and he will argue anything just for the sake of driving you crazy, and he doesn't necessarily have to agree with or believe in what he is arguing. Matthew always says Robby would be a great lawyer.

15. Robert is good at anything he decides he wants to be good at. This includes basketball, paintball, fishing, shooting, buying and selling on ebay, fixing Matt's paintball guns, etc. If he decides he wants to do it, it is not too long before he is an expert.

16. Robert has had the song "Insensitive" dedicated to him at a dance. We'll just leave it at that.

17. Robert has a fondness for setting alarm clocks for 2 or 3 am and hiding them in people's rooms.

18. Robert was shot by his uncle. With a shotgun. We come from a slightly violent background. Nah, it was an accident. I believe he still has some of the pellets in his body. I think Robert felt a whole lot better about the incident a few years later when he shot that same uncle four times with a paintball gun in the junk. Cup check.

19. Robert gives thoughtful FHE lessons or "spiritual thoughts". He always makes me feel inspired and humbled at the same time. He shares his wisdom well.

20. Robert served a mission in Brazil. I've heard that he was a very hard worker and a very fast walker. He and Matthew were companions twice, for a total of six months together. Robert cried when he was released and took off his tag.

21. Robert knows all of the words to "My Perogative" by Bobby Brown. He also calls me whenever he hears a great old school song on the radio.

22. Robert has never done anything really mean to a girl he didn't even know. Except for maybe the one time he had his friend tell a girl that she should go ask him how far his dad could kick a football. When she did, Robert told the poor sap, "Is that supposed to be funny? My dad doesn't have any legs."

23. Robert is adored by his kids. He really is an amazing father. He must have learned from the best.

24. Robert officiated at his best friend's wedding. His friend now calls him "The Reverend". Robert also named his first born after this friend.

25. Robert held Moses at the alter when he was sealed to us. I will always remember the way he cradled my son that day.

Chrissy 25 Things

1. Chrissy's idea of a fun girls' night is to cut up a bunch of magazines and make collages. Really.

2. Chrissy is the most fearless and creative cook I know. She makes amazing food and she uses whatever she feels like and is never scared how it will turn out. All of us girls cook like our mother--we don't follow recipes--but Chrissy just takes it to another level.

3. Chrissy referenced the country song "Livin' On Love" in her mission farewell talk.

4. Chrissy used to tell us stories using the ingredients as she mixed up cookie dough. The butter was sunshine, the sugar was snow, etc.

5. Chrissy loves to eat butter. Straight butter.

6. Chrissy once sang karoke to ABBA's "Waterloo" at the fair and brought the house down.

7. Chrissy named her dog Rusty Sundance Barrett. He was the best dog ever.

8. Chrissy is prone to severe laughing attacks. They tend to hit when she is in the kitchen. She usually ends up on the floor for 20 minutes or so.

9. Chrissy served a mission in France. She is the only member of our family (of those who served missions) that did not go to Brazil.

10. Chrissy has moves. Always has. She thinks she can no longer dance, but I know that girl could still bust it if the opportunity arose.

11. Chrissy loves to sing like a man when she is sick. Her favorite is "Broken Heartsville". If you haven't heard her do it, make it a priority to catch her next time she has a cold.

12. Chrissy made me love the rain.

13. Chrissy is the only member of our family that still lives in California. She lets me know when there are available houses near her though.

14. Chrissy always washes her eyebrows when she is finished doing her makeup.

15. Chrissy has very creative ways of getting her children to eat. The girl works hard at it. It is exhausting to watch.

16. Chrissy once said that when she got married she and her husband were going to hold hands all night while they slept. How's that workin' out for ya, Brandon?

17. Chrissy plays the piano and the flute.

18. Chrissy has been known to wear tight, very bright, green pants. And she rocked 'em.

19. Chrissy thinks she is the only one in the family that is not funny. Oh, she is so wrong. Robert is not funny either.

20. Chrissy makes up her own lyrics to well-known songs. It never ceases to amaze me how well she can do this at the spur of the moment.

21. Chrissy can hold her own in any arguement. And if you happen to be a doctor, you really should not mess with her.

22. Chrissy got a light blue Mazda 626 with a sunroof for her 16th birthday. She loved that car. And she loves her current vehicle, a light blue Toyota Sienna, named Cloudia.

23. Chrissy is Wonder Woman.

24. Chrissy cannot finish a meal in one sitting. She leaves her food on the table and comes back 20 minutes later to finish. She also has to eat right before she goes to bed or she will starve in the night.

25. Chrissy proved me wrong. I thought that Chrissy was fragile. When she was dating her now-husband I told him that she has a fragile soul. Then I saw her become a mother and I knew I had been wrong all along. She is most likely the strongest person I will ever know. I also told her husband that she is too good for this world--but I was right about that.

Mama 25 Things

1. My Mom HATES to cook, which is weird because she is really good at it. When she was in college she lived with her sister and she made a deal with her that she would do all the cleaning if her sister would do all the cooking.

2. My Mom sews really well. She made her own wedding dress and used to make my two sisters and I matching dresses every Easter. She, however, did not pass the sewing ability on to me.

3. My Mom was very good about making sure we had Family Home Evening every week while we were growing up. And like all children, we were so appreciative.

4. My Mom likes her some Neil Diamond, the Bee Gees, and Aaron Neville.

5. My Mom thinks Tom Selleck is hot. Oh wait, no, she thinks my Dad is hot.

6. My Mom LOVES frogs. She liked 'em when she was little and she liked 'em when she was grown. She's had a couple frogs, but the one I remember is, Barnaby, the frog who she would let crawl around in the dirty laundry piles. I also remember one time for sure that my brother totally got off the hook when he came home way too late, but he brought a frog he had caught to my mom.

7. My Mom likes the donuts with the pink or orange frosting and the Apple Fritters.

8. My Mom likes to read a good book while eating a good apple.

9. My Mom has to take a bath every night right before she goes to bed so she can get her feet warm enough, or else she can't fall asleep.

10. My Mom likes men's legs. That's all I'm going to say about that.

11. My Mom sang us primary songs at bedtime.

12. My Mom taught me to be a "high endurance shopper". She started me young, and there was a time I could make her proud. Then I had children and it all changed.

13. My Mom is the slowest decision maker in the world. Seriously. She looks at something, then she thinks about it, then she goes back and looks at it again, then she looks elsewhere for something better, then she takes another look, and on and on.

14. My Mom has always been my friend. When I was little she would take me out of school to take me to the movies or get an Icee. When I was a little older she would take me shopping and drop by my school with lunch for my friends and I. There has never been a time when I couldn't talk to my mom. I still call her everyday--usually more than once. And she still answers.

15. My Mom crashed on a motorcycle with her cousin, Cindy. She told us the story once in the car and she was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks. We thought she might crash then too.

16. My Mom is one of the most hard-working and selfless people I know.

17. My Mom started working at the City Library when I was in highschool. She had highly entertaining stories to tell about that.

18. My Mom gave birth in an ambulance. She's never seemed too happy about that.

19. My Mom cries every time she reads "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". It was her Dad's favorite book.

20. My Mom wanted to name me Thalia.

21. My Mom loves the smell of new baby dolls. I think she named one of them Thalia.

22. My Mom was the Young Women's president in our ward for a long time. I think she will never know how many lives she changed.

23. My Mom stayed with me in my apartment the night before I got married. She laid in my bed and listened to me talk all night because I was too excited to sleep. I will never forget that.

24. My Mom always made us homemade cards.

25. My Mom lets my Dad think he wears the pants. She's sweet like that.

Daddy 25 Things

1. My Dad is left-handed, as am I, but he writes the classic left-hand bent over way and I just hold my pen wrong, but my hand is upright.

2. My Dad listens to baseball games on the radio. He would often sit in his car out in the drive way after he got home from work and we knew he was listening to a game.

3. My Dad is the scariest person ever to find in a game of hide-and-seek. He always hides in a dark place and makes scary noises. My mom would have to go with us to find Daddy because we weren't going in there alone.

4. My Dad started out as a highschool teacher before going into Real Estate.

5. My Dad taught me to drive a stick by handing me the keys to my sister's car and saying, "Give it a go." Then he went to work.

6. My Dad majored in psychology, I believe.

7. My Dad makes a mean breakfast.

8. My Dad always takes his naps on the floor. Well, sometimes he falls asleep in a chair and then moves to the floor.

9. My Dad named his car "Clifford" because it is "a big red dog". It is quite fast, Robert and Matt can vouch for that.

10. My Dad is a good dancer and makes it his mission to teach young men how to really dance instead of just shuffle their feet.

11. My Dad is a scary man if you want to ask him to marry his youngest daughter. All I know is Matt came out of that room sweating like crazy. He still has nightmares about it.

12. My Dad cheats at most games. That is the only way to make it fun, of course. Spoons is the worst, and if you've never played with my Dad you are missin' out.

13. My Dad suffers from the disease Chocolate Donutitis. It is genetic and all his kids got it.

14. My Dad often talks about my Mom's "sparkling blue eyes". I've never heard him say a negative thing about her. I believe it--"The best thing a father can do for his children is love their mother." He loves that woman.

15. My Dad had an afro. Mos wants to be just like him.

16. My Dad bought me a car and told me not to let some boy marry me for my car. Matt crashed his car, bought a scooter, and married me.

17. My Dad sings well. He sang at my sister's wedding and at my other sister's farewell.

18. My Dad used to play baseball and basketball. Now he plays basketball and tennis.

19. My Dad joined the church in 1972.

20. My Dad has a scar on his arm from cutting himself with a chainsaw.

21. My Dad is "as handsome as the devil". Just ask him. I have had several friends tell me they thought my dad was good-looking, so he must be right.

22. My Dad knows A LOT of people. When we lived in California we could never go out in public with him without having to stop to chat with someone he knew. Handsome and popular...

23. My Dad drinks caffiene free Pepsi/Coke once in a while (we are not big soda people). We call it devil juice and I think it is nasty.

24. My Dad has really long, weird looking toes. I think all his kids got that too.

25. My Dad can give some really good advice on LIFE. He's a good person to talk to if you are ever in need.

Things You Never Wanted To Know....

Everyone seems to be on this "25 Random Things About Me" kick. I guess it's going around on Facebook (I wouldn't know I never log onto my Facebook account, that's just what I heard). So I thought I would challenge myself--I am going to write one for each member of my family. That is my husband, my kids, my siblings, and my parents. However, I am only going to do my side because the Stephenson side is a place I just don't want to go. So that's the goal--don't expect one every day, ya'll know I am not that dedicated, but I'll try my best. Hmmm, where shall we start? I'll think I'll go parents first. Read at your own risk.