Are They Really Family??

I think I may have promised not to put this on facebook.  But this is my blog soooooooo I'm not breaking any promises.  Even if they're weird...they're my weirdies.  

Tuckers, Tuckers Everywhere!!

This week the Tucker family is in five different states!

I am in Idaho...as always.
Eli is in Utah going to school.
Seth is in North Caroline visiting Tucker cousins. (He flew all by himself through the Chicago airport.  I'm still not sure how he made it there alive.)
Mom, Meredith and Noah are in Kansas visiting some friends.
Dad and Zach are in Ohio...Zach at school and Dad all by his lonesome at home.  Thankfully, Zach is going home this weekend to do taxes with dad so they will keep each other company.

Wow, we are quite the travelers!

Next weekend I'm headed down to Utah on Friday for General Conference and Eli timed his mission papers perfectly so I will be able to be there when he opens his call!!

Christmas Shenanigans

Just a normal night at the Tucker home...trying to get something out of a light socket WAYYYY up high.  Eli and Nathaniel are holding the ladder up using ropes...Dad, Mom and Meredith are the base stabilizers.  I just documented it.

(from Christmas break 2012)

Home, Sweet Home

I apologize for taking so long to update the story I like to call my life.  This entry is much more of a journal entry that some posts so it could get a little boring.  Apologizing again.  Feel free to just scroll through the pictures :)


I'd like to start off with an amusing picture of a man I'll refer to as Dumbledore.  We were on our way to my birthday dinner at Panera Bread when we saw Dumbledore in the distance.  From a distance, it seemed he really was Dumbledore, long beard especially.  As he neared our car, we noticed he did have a beard, but the majority of it turned out to be his open, hairy chest.  Gross.  Magic.Gone.

Dinner was lovely.  I branched out and got a turkey bacon avocado sandwich and some chicken lime orzo soup.  I usually enjoy a ham and swiss on rye.  It was delicious and I didn't even overstuff myself!  A rare occasion for Panera.  After dinner, we went to the fair to see Meredith march in the band show.  Oh, how I miss band!!  You can call me a band geek, I don't care.  This show made me miss my saxophone and miss performing.

Saturday was the fair parade in the morning.  Seth, Noah and I sat right on the curb and those people just kept throwing candy at us!  I was like "can't you see how big of a pile they already have?!  THEY NEED NO MORE CANDY!"  Nevertheless, we took home quite the stash of cheap candy.

Ohhhhh Sunday, what a great day!  One of the main purposes of this trip was to surprise two of my high schools friends, Nathaniel and Taylor, who just returned home from serving two year missions in South America.  It was a tough secret to keep because both had been asking if I was coming back to Ohio before starting school...and I lied shamelessly multiple times.  My brother ruined the surprise for Taylor and told him I was coming but I got Nathaniel good!  On Tuesday, Nathaniel and I went to Cedar Point to ride the roller coasters we haven't ridden in two years.

The Tucker grandparents came and spent a few days with us!

We have a garden this year!  There's all sorts of delicious veggies growing and I went and picked the first of the tomatoes.

 I went to Seth's Court of Honor on Wednesday...I may have forgotten to take my camera out until he was walking back to his seat so this is the only picture I got...

On Thursday I returned back to the west!  Here's a glimpse of my homeland.

 I met my dad in Salt Lake and we went to see Eli's BYU freshman picture be taken.

 Friday morning Dad and I hiked the "Y" overlooking Provo.

 Friday afternoon I was going to head back to Rexburg and then I thought "why am I going back to Rexburg when I don't have to work until Monday?!"  So I extended my Utah stay for a few days and crashed at my Peru roommate, Noelle's, place in Riverton.  Our Peru brother, Aleksi, just returned to America a few weeks ago and we had ourselves a little reunion.  It was great to see him again and the only thing that could have made it better would be to have had Breet there with us!  And Liz and Miguel would be icing on the cake, but they're still in Peru so it was slightly impossible for them to be there. 

 Inside joke with this picture.  We aren't totally crazy.

On Saturday we went to the Brigham City temple open house with a bunch of the YSA from Noelle's ward.  I hadn't been to a temple open house since the Nauvoo, IL temple was dedicated so it was a treat!  And I even ran into an old neighbor who is now serving as a Sister missionary in the area.

It was a great trip.  The perfect amount of relaxation and craziness.  And I didn't even mention how the airline lost my luggage and I ended spending $100 on new clothes that Delta ended up paying for. 

A Day of Thanks

(In no particular order...)

1.  Cars, planes and means of traveling long distances in short amounts of time
2. Telephones (and the people who built all those telephone lines in the middle of nowhere)
3. The temple and what it represents
4. Whitney, Alexis, Lauren, Brittany, Hillary, Bailee, Jamie, Audra, Kadi and all other previous roommates
5. BYU-Idaho
6. The admissions office (first, for letting me come to BYUI and, more recently, for my job and the great people that work there.)
7. My family and their support in whatever I decide to do
8. Green Bay.  The people there.  Cheese.  Cheeseheads.  Seroogy's chocolate.
9. Fireplaces and fake fireplaces
10. Laptops, email, facebook, blogs and other ways to quickly communicate with people all over the world.
11. My professors
12. Food...mostly delicious food
13. PERU!  New experiences.
14. Warm socks, sweatpants and sweatshirts
15. My ancestors
16. Late night movies.  Movies to procrastinate homework.  Musicals.  Classics.  Classic musicals.
17. The Classy Clarke men.  You know who you are.
18. Classy parties
19. Beginners Rec. Volleyball.  3-0!
20. Spatulas
21. Crafts
22. Books that warm my heart
23. My faith
24. Modern-day prophets and apostles.  Modern-day revelation.
25. Shawnee High School
26. Board games...Rummikub, Cribbage, Quelf, Catch Phrase, Mastermind
27. Cameras, pictures, scrapbooks
28. Missionaries- Elder Chris Tucker, Sister Kimberly Tucker, Sister Kadi Baggett, Elder Nate Smith, Elder Taylor Haycock, Elder Myles Johnson, Elder Aaron Curth, Sister Lexi Bramwell and more
29.  Stoplights
30. Vision and hearing
31. Cinnamon and the smell of cinnamon
32. Fingernail clippers
33. Conditioner
34. Days off of school
35. Good health and a sound mind
36. Birthdays and the chance to grow older and wiser
37. Movies in heaven (hopefully these are actually real)
38. Laughing.  Laughing at nothing.  Laughing babies.  
39. Bridges
40. Umbrellas.  Singing in the rain.
41. Clouds
42. A day to think about things I'm thankful for

Home, Sweet Home

Remember this post about me wishing I could see Eli play football his senior year of high school?  Well my wish came true!!!  My mom called me last Monday wondering if I would like to come home for a weekend and I was sooooo excited.  I packed my bags Thursday night and went to SLC where I stayed the night with a friend.  Friday morning I flew to Detroit where my mom picked me up at the airport and headed to Lima.  I got to see Eli play football and Meredith and Seth play in their soccer games.  I also talked to old friends, got a massive hug from my band director, saw the band, went shopping with Eli, ate way too much Panera, and almost played Monopoly with Seth.  Here are some pictures from the weekend.

#42...I didn't get any good pictures of him actually playing...

Couldn't go to a football game and not get a Shawnee Dog!!!

Dress for all Ages

My mom made this dress for homecoming my sophomore year of high school.

 And I wore it yesterday for devotional.

Thanks, Mom!!

Interjections!

"show excitement, or emotion!.... 

So when you're happy (Hurray!) or sad (Aw!)
Or frightened (Eeeeeek!) or mad (Rats!)
Or excited (Wow!) or glad (Hey!)
An interjection starts a sentence right!"

Or how about INTERCEPTIONS!!!!!!!  They "show excitement or emotion, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah... YEA!"

What, you might ask, is the purpose of this post?  Well, my brother scored a touchdown in the football game Friday night and the interception is causing me, and the rest of Lima, to shout interjections!  (Yes, he did score for our team, unlike the above video...) 

Let me tell you why this is such exciting news when every Friday night all around the United States there are high school football players scoring touchdowns left and right....

Eli is not the biggest guy you'll ever meet.  Until a year (or less) ago he was probably one of the smaller guys in the high school.  But let me tell you, that kid has worked his butt off since 7th grade playing football.  He loves it!  And he continued to work hard at every practice and lift weights in the off-season even though he didn't get much playing time.  If I were him, I would have quit a long time ago.  But he loves football and didn't let his size stop him.  After countless hours standing on the sidelines watching his teammates play he's finally gotten a chance to play varsity this year and play quite a bit.  And then, what do ya know?!  He goes and intercepts the ball and runs it back for a touchdown!!!  Can I just say I am one proud older sister.  I hate that I wasn't at the game and I really wish I could see him play a game his senior year.  But maybe it's better since when my mom was telling me all about the play on the phone I started crying.  I can't be crying at football games now!!  I have a reputation to uphold....

#42

There he goes!

 If you want to see the video of him click here.  It's the second play they show.

"Darn, that's the end."

TODAY is great!

I'll give my family props.  Even though they totally abandoned me and took an awesome family vacation to Washington D.C., NYC, and Palmyra they found time to get me a souvenir.  

A lovely TODAY show apron signed by Matt Lauer!  They love me after all.

Just Make Sure He's Handsome

Today while Seth and I were sitting at the hair salon waiting for Meredith (who was getting her hair dyed red for Anne of Green Gables next weekend) I had the chance to ask him a few deep and thought-provoking questions...like what he thinks my future husband should be like.  I'm sure the lady sitting across from us got a good laugh from the whole conversation...

Abigail: Seth, what do you think my future husband will be like?
Seth: What do you mean?
Abigail: What's he going to look like or like to do?
Seth: I don't know!  How should I know!
Abigail: Well what do you want him to like?
Seth: Comic books.
Abigail: Anything else?
Seth: Yeah he has to like to play with kids because I'm still a kid.  Oh, and have a good sense of humor.
Abigail: What about sports?  Any certain sport he should like?
Seth: Soccer.  But not football.  Well, actually I don't really care.
Abigail: What should he look like?
Seth: ME!!!!
Abigail: *laughs*
Seth: *laughs* Just make sure he's handsome, okay? *laughs*

There you have it.  I need to find a funny guy who likes kids, comic books, and soccer...oh and he needs to somewhat resemble this handsome 10 year old boy.....

Saving Rummikub

Board games are pretty universal.  You can play Chutes and Ladders, Checkers or Hi-Ho Cherry-O in New York, North Carolina or Nevada and it's the same game.  Heck, you can even play it with people who speak different languages because talking isn't necessary.  You don't need to know the people you play with which makes them perfect for parties (okay, I think I'm done with the alliterations for now).  

Enter Rummikub.

If my family had to pick a game that represented us I believe it would be Rummikub.  It's the one game I believe everyone knows how to play and will play if asked.  It's the go-to game on Sunday afternoons and could quite possibly be called a Sunday afternoon tradition.  I can't imagine life pre-Rummikub.  It's probably like parents trying to remember pre-child life...impossible!

Sadly, Rummikub is not a universal board game.  But it is a great example of the demise of American intelligence.  Sometime between the time my family purchased the game in a black box and the time that many others purchased it in a newer blue box, the makers of the game decided to change the rules.  Apparently no one told them you can't just change the rules to board games because they're universal.  

By "changing the rules" I mean they completely took out some very important rules that made the game a game of strategy!  Instead of a thought-provoking game it's just another think-every-once-in-a-while-but-not-enough-to-cause-you-to-actually-use-brain-juice game.  I detest the new rules.  And besides my family, I don't think any other person I've met plays with the old rules.  I feel like it's up to the Ohio Tuckers (since even my own grandmother and great-grandmother play with the new blue box rules) to save the original Rummikub!

So if anyone plays with the watered-down blue box rules and would like to learn a more advanced version, feel free to contact me.  I won't charge you for lessons and I may even let you win once or twice.