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While home this summer, I did a MAJOR purging at our home in Indiana. I went through closets, cupboards, drawers, and shelves to clear out and clean out. Living in Japan has made me realize that I don't need all of the stuff we left in Indiana. I hauled at least 20 sacks to Goodwill (I love their drive through... it is by far my favorite drive through.... sooooo n i c e). But I found one item really funny, a true classic. I found a case of 60 cassette tapes, 30 on each side..... B 52's, Men at Work, REM, Big Audio Dynamite II, Toto, Camper Van Beethoven, Police, So I Married and Axe Murderer Soundtrek, Huey Lewis, and more.

What was most funny of all were the "MIX TAPES" we created...


...especially the one we made for our WEDDING RECEPTION.... how sad is that???? Seriously???!!! I couldn't help but save it for sentimental reasons.


Sawyer to Kate "what do you want me to do, make you a mix tape?"

GI Jane

Shailey joined a week long "survival skills" summer camp at the YMCA. It was dirty and tough work and she loved every second of it. Shailey has always been a girl to go into a new activity head first and with gusto. She is festive, she is intelligent, she is brave, and she is a LOT of FUN! I have always told her she will make the best college roommate ever. If you want someone to join you in a crazy adventure, Shailey is your girl.

This is her survival skills teacher.... you know the kind who can be dropped off into the forest without supplies for months and be totally fine... uses a rock for his pillow.... you know the kind.


Shailey made an ATLATL (at-lat-al) and was taught how to hunt with it (most Moms would not know what an atlatl is, but being the archaeologist that I am I knew exactly what it is.... a type of throwing spear used during the late Pleistocene era [ice age]... later it was replaced by the bow and arrow. Think hunting woolly mammoths).


Woolly mammoth.


Shailey was only 1 of 2 girls in the group and was fine with that. On the last day the kids had to "camouflage" themselves with mud and plants of the forest and then played a hunting/ hide-&-seek game. They learned the value of being camouflaged because the better they were camouflaged, the more difficult they were to target. A couple kids opted out of this experiment... not our Shailey, we could only see the whites of her eyes and teeth!



GI Jane, She-ra, Ramibina... take your pick, she is awesome.

What's in a Name?

What Tracey Means

You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

My friend Lucy posted her name's meaning on her blog, so I thought I would do the same. I was curious what it said about my name. I totally laughed when I read, "You are most comfortable when you are far away from home"... I hope that is true, because it sure fits at the moment....ha! I also laughed when I read "you are type A personality...and intense"... now THAT is not true....LOL. Confident, authoritative, agressive.... hmmmm. I am a handful for sure and my energy overpowers everyone especially my family.... lets go and do and see and stay until the park shuts down and then ask "now what do you want to do?"

Groove is in the Heart

Groovy Ostlund kids love to dress up. They love to put on costumes and engage in imaginative play. I love this about our kids because it shows they are truly a product of their wacky, but creative, parents.

You Can Tell a Woman By the Contents of Her Purse

While with my grandma Oopeedoop this summer, she asked me for a pen and when I started pulling items out of my purse she said "good gol, Tracey, what all do you have in there!".... so it got me thinking and I dumped out my entire tiny purse.

Here is what I found:


7 lipsticks and chapsticks
8 receipts
6 pens
5 rubber bands
3 packs of gum
2 packs of tissues
2 hair clips
2 nail files
2 bobby pins
1 Tupperware container with 15 ibuprofen pills and 7 Excedrin pills
1 cell phone
1 note pad
1 Thomas Train watch
1 AA battery pack
1 large day planner
1 piece of chalk
1 popsicle stick
1 pair of sunglasses with a case
1 check book
1 large overstuffed wallet

and finally
1 pack of TUNA


That's right, you heard me, a pack of tuna... everything but the kitchen sink. My grandma and I laughed a long time over this one.

So what does this jumble of junk say about me?

Answer: I am a nutcase who obsesses over fresh breath, moist lips, and hair. I am a mother of a 4 year old son who demands constant entertainment (hence the Thomas watch, popsicle stick, chalk, pens, notepad, and batteries for his Leapster) and a mother of a daughter who frequently sneezes her insides out (hence the tissues). I am a wife who may have too many headaches due to the lack of sugar from doing Atkins with her husband (hence the ready made tuna packet). And I am a grandaughter who took Grandma's advice too literally when she said "it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

Bottom line: I am a psycho-path

What do the contents of your purse say about you?

Once Bitten

Yes, it is true... Ann Marie hooked Missie and I into the TWILIGHT series by Stephenie Meyers. I really did not want to like this series... vampires, werewolves, oh brother. But then, I gave in and well.... I was HOOKED.
I have to laugh because even though the series is written for "chicks", they are awesome, and I found myself being one of millions waiting for book 4 to come out this summer. Thank you Ann Marie... book 4 was every bit as good as the others. I have definitely been bitten by the Twilight magic.
(PS, it may interest you to know that someone I live with in Japan, who shall remain nameless, is also enjoying the series... and its not a chick :)

(PS, an honorable mention is also given to my sister Michelle who also got me into the series... I failed to give her the credit she deserves for her taste in a good read.... "thank you michelle, you are absolutely awesome")

Cousin Buddies

Jonas and Brody are best 4 year old cousin buddies.  Only a few weeks apart in age, they have many differences that make them a fun pair to watch.  While Jonas likes Spiderman, Batman, and Superman, Brody likes trucks, trains, and cars.  While Jonas acts without thinking, Brody thinks before he acts.   At the pool Jonas ran and jumped in within a split second, while Brody found a sign with pool rules and said he needed to read the sign first in case jumping was not allowed (which is hilarious because he does not know how to read...how cute is that?) 

And yet they are similar too.  They both love to explore.  They both love story time.  They both love to talk, talk, and talk.   And, they both love climbing trees and playing outside.  This summer I realized how much Jonas really needs "boy time".  Boys will be boys.  

Oh Holy Day

August 2, 2008, Emma Elizabeth Ostlund chose to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. She is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She prepared a long time for this special day with regular scripture reading, personal prayers, going to church each week, and just making good choices everyday. She wore the dress I wore when I was baptized in 1981 (actually all of my sisters wore this dress). She thought it was really special wearing her Momma's dress.

All of her grandparents came to Indiana for this special day: David, Nonnie, Grandad, Grammie, Ann Marie, and Papa Glenn.

Uncle Bill's family came and so did Aunt Missie's.

Emma's other special friends were there too: the Olers, the Buntons, and the Rickerts

And of course our most special friend Victoria shared this day with us too.

Daddy was very happy to baptize his little girl... she is growing up so beautiful. We love you Emma!

American Idol or Bust

It is absolutely true, the Ostlunds are huge AMERICAN IDOL FANS! Even Jonas can tell you the top 10 American Idols by name... "I'n going to vote for dabid archuletta."

So when we found out 2008 Idols were coming to concert in Indianapolis, we were sold. My parents are also BIG FANS, and since they were going to be in town, they wanted in on the scene too (Glenn wanted to be there, but he had to be in Singapore at the time boo hoo).

And, because I am all about being FESTIVE, I knew we needed matching FAN T-SHIRTS. I found the American Idol symbol online and then printed it onto iron-on patches. Shailey added an additional line on hers that read "especially david a." (you best believe she is in love, L U V).

On a funny note, my first t-shirt design had "American Idol or BUST" written across the chest... ummm maybe that wasn't the best idea. Anyways, our shirts were a big hit and tons of people stopped to ask us where we bought them (if I were an entrepreneur I would have jumped on that, but alas I am not... as a kid I hated selling girl scout cookies... my idea of pure torture).




The concert was amazing. This year's top ten idols are so musical... in concert, they played, piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and even the ukulele. We had pretty good seats, when we were actually sitting in them and not dancing, singing, and shouting with the idols.
This was Shailey and Emma's very first concert. I was pretty stoked that I got to share their first concert experience and know that it was one we were equally excited about. The audience was largely comprised of mothers and their kids. It was a perfect "first concert". The girls were sooooooo jazzed to be there, and kept saying "thank you mom for taking us!!!" This was definitely a big highlight of the summer.

David Cook was an amazing performer who knew how to work an audience. He was very candid and even stopped during his performance to tie his pants string. He laughed and while he tied he said to the audience, "talk amongst yourselves" (Saturday Night Live Mike Meyers reference).

But I have to say... we were the most excited to see David Archuletta..... I thought Shailey was going to burst while waiting for him to appear on stage. And she was not the only one thrilled to see him either....Grammie also had grins from ear to ear!

What can we say, the boy has talent... and he is only 17 for pete's sake... what is he going to do with more experience? Two words, wow and wow.In case you did not know, David Archuletta is Mormon (belongs to our church) so Shailey screamed during his performance, "I LOVE YOU DAVID ARCHULETTA!!!!!! MARRY ME!!!" She is 11 and he is 17 so, technically speaking, its a pretty good match.

After the concert was over, like true fans, we waited around for autographs and were not disappointed. Shailey got all but one of the idol's autograph. It was crowded, so I handed Emma my camera and put her up on my shoulders to take pictures. Emma had a system of snapping her fingers and calling the idols' name... "Jason Castro, look up here!!" It worked like a charm.

You can see just how crowded it was, tolerable, but crowded.

Michael Johns is a total hottie, and very sweet too. How can you not love that Australian accent? Michael, you can sing me a Queen song anytime.

Ramiele Malubay was more difficult to photograph because she is such a shorty.

Syesha Mercado was the most appreciative of the fans... she gave us so much attention. She really is this beautiful too.

Chikezie Eze was fun to watch perform... he is such a happy guy and was probably the idol who danced the most on stage.

Carly Smithson got kind of ticky with the fans... she was annoyed with the pushing and shoving.One woman got ticked at me too... accused me of stepping on her daughter while I tottered around with Emma on my shoulders. I looked down and saw that I was clearly not on her daughter. She was just panicking in the crowded setting. I told her "hey, this is what it is... we are all crowding around to see our idols. This is what fans do." She did not appreciate my observation and asked me if I was drunk (yeah, mother with 8 year old daughter on her shoulders... clearly I was drunk... oh brother). I finally got sick of her fussing and said firmly "it seems like this is too much for you and maybe you should choose another activity for your daughter." She left in a huff.

David Cook was completely mobbed. One kid took off his grimy Converse sneaker and handed it to David to sign.... David looked at the ratty shoe and said "you are kidding me right?" The kid was not kidding and with good humor, David signed his shoe.

This smile was for me.... Emma caught David's attention to look at the camera, but my camera battery started to die so David looked at me like "how long am I supposed to hold this smile"... I laughed, and just when he looked away, the camera finally clicked. He thought it was funny too.

David Archuleta is just as darling in person as he is on TV. With fans squeezing in everywhere, Shailey was having a difficult time getting her book to David to sign. David's dad saw her struggling and so he took her book and personally handed it to David.... Shailey was on cloud 9!(this is David's dad next to him)

And last, but not least, we managed to get both girls in a picture with Brooke White, our other favorite idol, who is also Mormon... the girls were elated.

After waiting for hours mashed in mobs of sweaty people suffering the hot and humid Indiana night, after crying tears of fatigue and frustration when I thought my shoulders were going to give out, and finally after all our trials, reaching our goal and meeting our idols, we realized without a doubt, we were truly modern day pioneers. After all, it was AMERICAN IDOL OR BUST!