We're young, poor, and full of sugar! Let's go crazy, Broadway-style!

The Great Battle of College Avenue! It started with 4 light-sabers, but by the end of it, a giant cardboard roll, several sticks, the Sting, and a broom also entered the fray, along with several other people. This is Tim, Beckah, Garrett, and Brad. Notice everyone's intense looks, with the exception of cheerful Tim. Also note the parallel between Garrett's shirt and his own stance. Great pic, no? Please also take a moment to check out Beckah's pictures of the Pregnancy Night, along with some descriptions of more of our adventures, including that of "Tad the Cuddler," on her blog.

By way of update, thought I'd share a little about life here on College Avenue. This cute little house is definitely my favorite PLACE I've lived in Rexburg so far, but the whole experience is growing on me too. I live with some fun, whacky wonderful people, and our home is frequented by even more of the same. I'm inescapably a theatre geek, so allow me to introduce you to life around here using a little theatrical vocabulary.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

The "Hawmps family"...

Liz (AKA me): Father figure and stay-at-home mom in one, nudist, and quote-book editor.

Beckah: One of the "little girls," word-of-the-day editor, and initiator of chaos!

Nellie: Another one of the "little girls," the token Idahoan, and stutter-er extraordinaire.

Jenny Mae: The last of the "little girls," fellow Oregonian, and the other silly redhead.

Kimri: The wise and righteous Grandmother figure, the quietest and the oldest, and the one who sits and takes us all in with a smile and loving questions about our sanity and salvation

Eileen: The Mom, cook and cosmetologist, and the friendliest hostess who you can't help but love.

Additional Hawmps members that don't actually sleep here, at least not after curfew, include but aren't limited to...

V: "Big Brother" (literally to Eileen), MY BOYFRIEND (I don't think I mentioned that detail about my life in my blog yet), owner of the famous and often-seen-on-college-avenue car The Oracle, and general provider and partaker of the excellent times that we have here. Also an excellent kisser.

Tim: From across the street. The gentlemanly ape-ish fellow that is Eileen's significant other, who is generally pretty mellow but who every now and then says or does something that is made all the more hysterical by his mellow manner.

Brad: Also across the street. A friend of Jenny's from home who comes to woo us with his guitar and his Dave Matthews impression. Brad...the object of many lusty thoughts.

Davey: Jenny's brother, seemingly quiet, who joins in the chaos with his guitar-playing skills and Tony Hawk Playstation...ing.

Allowiscious: The cat whose origons and actual home is unknown, who occasionally comes by to purr in our laps and startle us as we turn a corner. We gave it it's name.

THE SETTING:
131 College Avenue. Turkish prayer flags hang above the porch. On the front door is taped a sign, with a picture of a camel and the words "Welcome to the Hawmps" and as a post-script "It's very small. And nicely cramped...so that there's hardly any room between one adventure and the next." Enter an old house with walls too thin, containing an impressive library, a dozen or so Jones soda bottle, and a Pez collection on the wall opposite the front door. A guitar sits in the corner, rescued from the flooded Playmill men's dressing room, bearing the autographs of everyone who's played it since its entered the house. The white-board outside the kitchen has various items of business, including the Question of the Day ("Are there pineapples/beaches in Spirit Prison?") and the Word of the Day, normally taken from the Balderdash cards ("Snurp: verb. To shrivel up."). Next to the white-board is the chores chart and the Official Constitution, and on a shelf above it, The Shrine. The Shrine consists of numerous objects that have stories behind them or are in some way connected to one or more of the members of the household. On the shelf sit a newspaper rose in a vase, a green stuffed bunny named Dave, a Mr. Potato figure, the shards of Sting, 3 railroad pikes (one of them bearing a magnet saying "Vaughn"), a Catholic "Santa Barbara" candle, a collection of Volkswagon Bug model cars, and 2 Balderdash cards, one describing the movie "Hawmps" and one bearing the word "Dunkle" (to dint or crumple). In the kitchen is a pile of dishes that V will eventually do if they're Liz's responsibility, otherwise they'll pile up for a few more days until we run out of clean ones. Covering the walls are the paper hearts that were put up for Eileen weeks ago when she was having a bad day, but which now serve as a good reminder of appreciation.

THE DIALOGUE:

"I've always wanted to ski through fire." --Nellie

"I hate our ceiling. It looks like nasty kisses." -Beckah

"Eileen, the oven scared me so I turned it off. Sorry if I hurt your food." --Jenny

"I wouldn't trush him with my eggs." --Brad

"It would be really embarrassing if my brother was a bad kisser." --Eileen

"Wow, if her skin was darker, she'd look black." --V

"I can't figure out if that's a sombrero or a tank." --Beckah

"My gosh, Kimri knows more guys than Santa Claus!" --Jenny

"Brad busted the hand off of Jesus." --Eileen

"I think I'm sort of cute. And I like the way I move." --Brad

"I was going to go to bed early tonight until we decided to get pregnant." --Nellie

"What's the possibility of all of us getting pregnant at the same time? We'd have to call eachother up and be like 'Let's conceive.'" --Beckah

"Nothing says 'Garrett' like hobo." --Jenny

Beckah: I'm glad Moroni's on the top of the temple.
Nellie: Yeah, what if it was like, Gabriel or some other angel?
Beckah: Yeah, or Micheal. Gross!

"You'll have plenty to do while I'm gone; I've had a sudden urge to consume waffles." --Perry Mason

I think that is sufficient introduction to the adventurous existence that is life at the Hawmps!