We Love You!!!

Mom and Dad!

Because we love you so very much, we wanted to start recording some of our memories, thoughts and other stuff in a blog for you.  We all have access to this blog - including you two, so you may post things whenever you like.  I required all of the kids to post something to start us off in honor of your anniversary, so enjoy their stories and jabs!  Happy 30th Anniversary!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!
The Gang (a.k.a. The Troops, Adult Offspring, the kids, HMBBA, etc.)

A Dedication from Aaron

All that I have to say is that our parents have set many memorable records that, as far as I know, have yet to be topped.

Let us begin with Mother,

-The first (and I believe only) woman in the history of the world to get into a physical fight with a towel rack and lose.

I am fairly certain that we can all remember and respect the nights with Mom and her strange out of body experiences. There were the nights where she would try to hit me and I slowly moved out of her way as her hand drifted delicately by. The nights where we couldn't pray due to her mufffled laughter. The nights where Mom couldn't walk to bed without running into several walls or banisters. The nights where Mom would talk like an alien; "live long and prosper". All of these were good times and they serve as small reminders of Mom's party life as a youngster. Good times Mom, good times.
Now, back to the original story, Mom slipped into the bathroom late at night in one of her moods. Tried to wash up with the light off, ran into a wall and ripped the towels off. The night didn't get much better since she fell off the bed trying to get back in. Love you Mom, thanks for making childhood exciting!

Now Dad,

-The only Bishop to ever violate his own safety rules... in the middle of their presentation.

I was young, but I remember two things; riding on the back of the jet ski and seeing the look of horror on Ben's face. Long story short, Dad thought that it would be funny to drive his jet ski as fast as he could at Ben in his little canoe and then stop right before impact. The plan was excecuted flawlessly but aparently this violated a water safety rule and the ward witnessed the act in the middle of their safety lecture. If it means anything Dad, your kids loved it! (Well, Matt and Aaron at least).

You guys really are the best. You have set a great example for all of us as to what a good marriage involves and I believe that all of your kids will benefit from the example that you have given us. Happy 30th anniversary Mom and Dad! Love ya!
-Aaron

Travels with the King's Singers

I remember the amazing travels of our family in the early years. I remember how we all had our place in the car. Heather was in the back seat corner. Matt was also in the back seat in the other corner. That left Aaron and I to duke it out for the window seat in the front. With the advent of portable cd players, we lost something special from our exciting adventures. It was the music and car games put on by Mom and Dad! First, Mom would start us off with a rousing license plate game, then move on to "I spy with my little eye". After these games started dying down, Dad would seize his opportunity and pushed in one of The King's Singers cassettes. Then Mom and Dad got into this mellow mood and sit up at the front talking quietly and holding hands. We all remember this from the back of the car. The AC was blowing heavily on us, we had finished most of the candy Mom had bought for the trip and Aaron was staring intently out the window trying not to get sick. This is when I was forced to relinquish my window seat if I had secured it by some miracle earlier. So I sat there in the front seat without something to lean on. Everyone else was doing their own thing, and I felt sick from licorice mixed with wheat thin crackers and "healthy grapes" that Mom had packed. Without anything to lean on, I sort of slumped forward and let my head roll back and forth with the car as I tried to close my eyes. The King's Singers then came into focus and it was like they were always singing the same song, "good, good good! good vibrations!" I have since learned about the phenomenon called "classical conditioning". Pavlov's dogs are the perfect example of this. The King's Singers work in a similar way for all of us I believe. I sort of slump forward in my chair, get a pain in my belly, and start drifting off to sleep. There will always be the better association in my mind, however, of Mom and Dad holding hands, wearing their sunglasses, and talking quietly in the front of the car. Even though Dad usually didn't hear what Mom was saying, slowly nodding while she talked, it will always be a favorite memory for me of our parents completely content with each other. Your harmony as a couple is far superior to the dulcet tones of the King's Singers. And, even better, it doesn't make us all sick. I sure love you two and am so grateful for your marriage and love for each other. It has made my life so much better as a result.

A History of Games

Does this look familiar?


So we thought that some of our favorite memories with Mom and Dad have come while we've played games. The Wrath of the Shocker, the Dreaded Killer Bunnies, and the Always -Fun-to-Watch-Old-People-Lose Spaz Uno.

The Wrath of the Shocker

One night, Brigette and I thought it would be fun to introduce this lovely contraption to our elders at the Hammond pad. We entered with a pre-conceived plan on how to trick them into getting electrocuted by this horrific device.

The Scene: "The Kitchen Table."

"Hey, Dad! Grab this metal handle and we'll play this fun game!"

"Okay, Son. I trust you with my life."

"Hey, Mom! Come play this game with us. It's the best game ever!"(chortle-chortle)

"Oh, oh, let me finish this real quick! I'll be right over!"

(Pops seats himself at the table while Mom continues cleaning, oblivious to their children's evil ways)

"Basically, once the creepy song starts, you need to hit the button on top of the handle as fast as you can. Whoever hits it first wins!" (chortle-chortle)

"Sure thing, Son. "

(Pops grabs the handle rapidly. Momma Gulia finishes drying off a pot and then grabs the second handle after Pops has tried to call her away from cleaning for several minutes)"

"Okay, let's start!"

(Evil music commences and chaos ensues. Pops hits the button as fast as he can and gets electrocuted)

"Ahh!"

(Pops leaps up from the table)

"Oh, oh, oh!"

(Mom gets shocked simultaneously and yelps in pain)
(Matt and Brigette succumb to fits of laughter for the next several days. Hence forth, Matt and Brigette aren't allowed to bring games over)

The End

This is just a snippet of the epic of the Games. Prior to this experience, Killer Bunnies nearly cost us our marriage. On New Year's Eve, Pops wanted us to organize and play a game sent over with Brigette by Larissa called Killer Bunnies. About fifteen minutes into the instructions, Pops decided against participating further and abruptly left his hand of cards on the table. Brigette and I probably should've followed suit before I killed her hoard of bunnies with a Meteor card. That game was also banned from the Hammond Pad as well as from the M & B Casa de Awesomeness.

Several weeks back, we played a game of Spaz Uno with Aaron and the Padres. Each game had a very similar pattern: Brigette, Aaron, and I would all run out of cards as Dad's hand grew steadily and Mom's hand grew exponentially. Out of 50 tries, Mom would take the pot 47 times. Dad would get the rest because he loves his wife.

The Elderly continue to wow us with their tolerance. These stories are some simple examples of how much they can put up with. Every sunday night, we get to enjoy some time with them and they always make the occasion great. We have decided that we'll likely try to mirror the majority of things that these senior citizens represent. Brigette is already making plans to find a little anxiety-filled furball that we can take out on nightly walks and pamper with no limits. I have personal plans to lose 80% of my hair by my 40th birthday. Brigette has already started emulating Mom's late-night habits. Luckily, we don't have any stairs. Funny, but in our relationship, the snoring is reversed. I try to fall asleep as fast as I can just the way Mom does. All in all, we just wanted to say Happy 30th Anniversary to the Viejos and we happen to love you, currently.

Love it!!!

I love Mom and Dad!  I can't tell you how grateful I am that I got them and they are stuck with me! I am grateful for their kindness and love, their humor and fun, their goodness and patience and the list goes on and on.

One of my favorite memories of Dad that I still tell people about to this day is the 15 minute clean-up.  I think that at some point it was an hour clean-up and he had to keep taking that time down so that we kids would actually do something.  He would make a list of things on the white board and then blast the Sousa marches from the stereo in the family room.  We'd all begrudgingly come into the kitchen to do our part, knowing the sooner we did, the sooner that music would turn off.  Dad has taught all of us kids hard work and dedication.  I never see him being lazy - EVER!!!  He always has a project or an idea or something that he is into.

I think one of my favorite memories of Mom is her jumpiness.  I know that sounds weird, but it always makes me laugh when I think about how we could just quietly say her name and she would jump a mile into the air, grabbing her heart and going, "Auh!"  Amazing!  I also remember as a child sitting around the corner from whichever room she was in with my friend Bryttin.  We had a game where we'd sing the first line of a song - any song, really - and Mom would pick it up and just keep singing it.  The funny thing is that she didn't realize we were doing this - she'd just sing away, cheerfully!  That is something that I admire about Mom - her cheerfulness.  She is always kind and optimistic and has encouraging words to give.  Mom is always giving.

I love you both and wish you the best anniversary EVER!!!

Love,
Heath