Life - Or Something Like it.

Yep. That's what's going on here. I've been avoiding this thing like the plague for the last, oh, I don't know, several months. Work has been an absolute beast and I just haven't had the desire to sit down and write like I used to. I mean, I write for a living. And, sometimes, that just doesn't leave me with enough desire to write for pleasure.

But, after much poking, prodding and pestering (Aunt Cheryl), I'm back at it. And, I couldn't think of a better way to "start fresh" than to start with baby news.

No, not mine.

My sister-in-law, Tracie, and her husband, Neil, had their first child Feb. 18 and David and I were lucky enough to be a couple of the first family members to meet this new little bundle of joy.

Of course, Uncle Dave and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take lots and lots of pictures.

If you couldn't tell, Uncle Dave is pretty proud.

Even though I'm not technically related, I have to say Baby Ellie has a pretty proud Aunt Rachel, too. She is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. And, she's pretty sweet, too. I have a feeling Uncle Dave and I will be making more than one trip over to Des Moines in the near future to visit this little cutie.

Of course, spending the weekend with the newest Torbert grandchild means that David and I are officially "under the gun." I have a feeling, when that does happen, it's going to be some kind of crazy.

I'm not even going to try to come up with a good excuse.
Ok. Yes I am.

Really - I've been super busy. Seriously.
I forgot.
Okay, I didn't forget - I just didn't want to spend the time required to sit down and write.
I can't figure out how to put this last Fabulous Foursome entry together.
My dog ate it.
Wait, I don't have a dog. Scoop ate it?

In any case, it's time for me to get back on the wagon and get this ol' blog rolling again. Before diving into something new, let's finish off the old, shall we?

In case you have forgotten, I have these friends. There are three of them. They're all different. And, they're all hilarious.

I've been trying to find the best way to pull all of this tegether. I started with posts of each member of the Fabulous Four and intended to tie it all together in one (or two) final posts about us as a group. Or mob, depending on who you ask.

After a month and a half of thinking (it really has been in the back of my mind, I promise), I still don't have a good answer. I could tell you stories. Oh, could I tell you stories. And, I could give you some pretty funny quotes (they would pretty much go along with the stories), but I don't know if that's the best way to do this either.

But, it doesn't matter. That's what I'm going to do.

The first time I remember thinking of the four of us as a crazy mob, or force taking over the space around us, was when we first lived together at 4-H House. It was the first time we all had a chance to live with the people of our choosing, rather than living with an older girl in the house. And, trust me, we took advantage of that.

Our room was right next to a room with three seniors living in it. Three fun seniors. I mean, they really knew how to have a good time.

We knew how to have a better time.

I know this because, one night as we all were dancing, and probably yelling, in our room, they started beating on the walls to quiet us down. Eventually, they had to come over and ask us to be quiet. Which scared us because, if you're busy dancing and twirling and yelling, the chances of you noticing someone walking into your room are pretty slim.

Scared or not, that wasn't the only night there was dancing and yelling our room. Somehow, living together brought out the best in each of us. It also brought out the "funny" in each of us (at least I think so).

"It's too bad we can't vote someone off the island. I'm pretty sure she'd be the first one. We wouldn't even need to use paper - we could just say 'I.'" - Skitter
"How many Mexicans have you seen in the White House?" - BK
"I'm going to the kitchen to get a knife to peel this bitch." - Baum
"If we lose someone, it better be a lazy ass." - Lock
"Do you like having big boobs?" - BK
"I have a salad dance!" - Baum
"I was thinking of becoming a whore. Starting tonight." - Lock
"I just laid in your bed and rolled around in it." - Skitter
"I'm wearing your deodorant Rachel Baum. I just thought you should know." - Lock
"At least if you're fat, you're not a slut. But, I'm sure there are some fat sluts. Slutty fat people." - Lock
"Wow. I look like a lesbian." - Baum

And, my personal favorite:

Skitter: "Love is a battleship."
Baum: "Um, battlefield. Love is a battlefield."
Skitter: "Oh. I always thought it was battleship. That would be cool, though."

Okay, so maybe you don't think these are as funny as I do. The point is, every time I read these quotes, I remember exactly what was happening and why they were so darn funny.

My apologies for the long, boring post that doesn't really pertain to you at all. Actually, I don't really care if you don't think these stories are funny. I know the minute Lock, BK and Skitter read these, they'll do just what I'm doing: stare at my computer and laugh.

During the years we lived together - and have known each other - there was more dancing and yelling. There were more crazy quotes. There were first days of school, birthdays and going away parties. There was even a wedding.

Bye, Skitter. We'll miss you.
And, in honor of you, let's party it up.

There were rumbles in the hallway with the girls in the room on the other side of us (no one was hurt, I promise). There was sledding down the stairs in a sleeping bag. There were late night trips to Wal-Mart. There were formals and exchanges and back lot parties.