The Unofficial Dictionary of Blanchardisms

The words our family uses have led to many confused looks by friends visiting our home for the first time, new members of the family (such as spouses) being called names that don't appear in any dictionary (choochy), and general confusion all around when certain Blanchardisms are used outside the walls of 4256 Brockshire. For those of you who don't intimately know our family yet (a lucky group indeed), let me share a brief dictionary of our favorite "words" (a term I use loosely as you'll soon find out).

*because many of these words have never been recorded, some spelling will be feebly attempted by the author - add any words you remember in the comments below

Dingleberries [noun] - mangy clumps of dog fur - not to be confused with other berries which are actually okay to eat
"Dog hair cuts each Spring always revealed dingleberries in the most surprising places."

Choochy [adj] - having the appearance of cuteness - typically used when someone wears clothes they normally wouldn't wear that are considered cute by other members of the family
"Doesn't Gregg look choochy in this polo/button down/sweater vest/etc.?"

Cottage Chage [noun] - ("age" in both words pronounced like mirage) also known as cottage cheese, a feeble Blanchard attempt to sound sophisticated (a trait quickly lost once the eating commences)
"Can you pass the cottage chage."

Boodjay [command] - a command used to tell someone to move out of my way - this one word is already a full sentence and cannot be used with any other words - typically used when someone is standing if front of the silverware drawer and another family member needs a fork
"Boodjay."

Boodj [command] - used when the speaker is too lazy to use the full "word", typically used when someone is standing in front of the dishwasher door - often used following "boodjay" if first command is not obeyed (or understood)
"Boodj."

Gra [nickname leading into ridiculousness] - required to be either preceded or followed by "ma" - once used, every word following must end in "a"
"Ha ma, wha tha?" "A, Gra, na tha." "A ka."

Wicked [adj] - synonymous with good, great, wonderful, magnificent, glorious, spectacular, near perfect - used to describe cats for whom we never share our true feelings lest they gain even more power over us
"You are so wicked!" "[purrrrrrrrr]"

Mahdjay [command] - eat - used by our Mother to tell us to start eating - frequently followed by 4-5 trips to and from the cupboards/stove where she fetches "essential" utensils or seasonings which, to this day, have never actually been used during the meal
"Mahdjay"

Mahdj [command] - eat, shortened - used most often after the second trip to the cupboards/stove
"Mahdj"

Blanch [nickname] - used in third person when scolding oneself for missing a short putt - mistakenly used by the high school friends of one family member who misunderstood the original meaning
"Come on Blanch!"

Heb [nickname] - Heather - has been known to lead young Blanchards raised in Utah to be shocked when, in other states, they see a grocery store named after their sister
"I haven't heard Heather called Heb in years."

Lamb [nickname] - Laurel (variation: lamber) - note: behavior of animal used for this nickname bears no actual resemblance to the behavior of aforementioned family member
"Thanks, Lamber."

Bear [nickname] - Ryan, (variation: bear-friend) - unknown origin, though perhaps related to the smell in the room occupied by said family member during his week of wisdom-tooth surgery recovery
"We missed you bear-friend."

Pup [nickname] - Gregg - note: also a curse that keeps this family member from ever looking his age
"Hi Pup!"

Pauline [nickname] - Dad (Paul) when "Paul" isn't mushy enough - not to be confused with the Pauline Epistles (after careful examination, the clear omission of any reference to the parable of the fists - 6 months in the hospital vs sure death - helped scholars conclude that our Father did not in fact write many of the books in the New Testament)
"[edited for content too mushy for family blogs]"

Grump [noun] - used to gently suggest one's state directly before retiring for the night
"Go to bed, grump."

Ggggggggggggggggg [noise] - a higher-pitched-Chewbaca-like noise made by our mother when she hears really exciting news - involves clenched fists held close to her chest, squinty eyes, crying - hugging immenent when sound is heard
"Gggggggggggggggggggg, [puts phone down and turns to dad], Gregg's engaged!"

Moo [nickname] - Melia - unknown origin - a form of reverse psychology - every time "moo" is used, Melia's cuteness increases
"Well hello there Miss Moo."

Noodletoot [noun] - synonymous with stinker, punk, sneak [Elwoodism], doublecrosser, rabblerouser, etc. - though to the untrained eye the meaning seems to be related to yesterday's spaghetti, the actual origins of this word are unknown
"You are such a noodletoot."

Booana [noun] - term of endearment, synonymous with "you"
"Come here booana."

47/17/21/35 [noun] - used to ask for our Father's always available pocket knife - we all claim to know what the real number is, but we all remember different numbers - used most often on Christmas morning - known for a blade of remarkable eternal cleanliness that only gets cleaner when contacted by the entrails of rainbow trout
"Padre, can I use your 47...gotta cut a dingleberry off Benson's haunches."

"" [threat (empty)] - if our Mother's hand is held, palm down, near her shoulder and is accompanied by something that resembles more of a smile than a glare, this is a threat - do not be alarmed

White Mountains, Orange Leaves, and Blue Oceans

We spent a marvelous week plus a day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and on the coast of Maine.  Here are just a few of our adventures:

Slightly more green than the state we had
left the day before.

Changing colors at Gunstock.

Halfway up the trail and the colors really
started to brighten up

Not sure what this was, but it looked cool.

The old rock wall that criss-crossed the trail.

Overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee from the top of Gunstock
Mountain Resort.

A mile into our first trip over the Kancamagus Highway and we
were already blown away by the color.

Overlooking the White Mountains.

More overlooking.  More color.

Beware of the meese.  (We didn't see any.)

Did we mention the leaves were amazing?

Good to know.

Turns out 5000' make a difference.

Into the clouds near the summit of Mt. Washington.

Lots of rime.

Luckily, the wind that day was only around
25 mph.

A cool view of Wildcat Mountain on the descent.

Once we dropped below the clouds again, the view was incredible!

Many locals did a sort of "Pumpkin Drive" (as opposed to a
"Pumpkin Walk") with themed creations using pumpkins.

More lovely leaves at Cannon Mountain.

An entirely lovely hike was the first thing
on our list Monday morning.

More awesome colors.

And even more awesome colors and views.

Our cute little motel in Lincoln.

Nubble Lighthouse on a cold, rainy morning.

Another smaller lighthouse we decided to find.

We love us some ocean views.

The beach was covered with hundreds and hundreds of cairns.

Some lovely boats on the Maine coast.

Last bite of a rather lovely clam chowder and
Reuben lunch.

We considered a quick career change to snag
better parking, but decided it wasn't
worth the hassle.

Portland Headlight was amazing once the storm broke the next day.

Lovebirds on the beach.

Clouds.  Wonderful, marvelous clouds.

Kennebunkport was the next stop.

More lovebirds on the beach.

Tee Hee Hee.

On the way back to Manchester, we did a quick tour of Exeter, NH,
where some ancestors (the Leavitts) came from.  This was the Garrison
House, the oldest in the town that was built in the 1600s.

The Winter Street House of Jeremiah Leavitt, built around 1750.

The Winter Street Graveyard in Exeter, NH.  Apparently some relations
are buried here, but I don't know who.

After a few attempts, we finally found the cemetery where Joseph
Leavitt was buried.

The cemetery.

The directions said "look for a brown house by the cemetery".  Turns
out every family cemetery on that road had a brown house next to
it.  This ended up being the house we were looking for.

McIntyre was in a neighborhood so we figured it wasn't too big.
We were right.  Look closely and you'll see the top of the lifts.

The classic chair shot at McIntyre.

Golden Leaves . . . Take Two

Saturday took us on another leaf-watching drive.  We looped down to Aspen via Glenwood Springs and came home via Independence Pass and Leadville.  What a drive!  We initially thought we'd spend more time exploring Aspen itself, but there were huge crowds and not a lot of parking, so we ended up mostly bypassing it.  But Snowmass was fun.  And then we headed over the pass - it was probably the most beautiful drive we'd been on in our lives.  Ever.  Colorado sure knows how to do fall right.   It's been spectacular!

We took a little walk under the lifts at Snowmass.

This is a sculpture made from an old haul rope (over 1/2 mile of it!)
to form a "Blissful Helix".  That sign also says it's for sale by owner
if you're interested in some lawn art.

In Aspen we were able to see their old single
chair, "Lift 1", which was the longest lift
in the world back in the day.

Here we are, starting up the drive on the Top of the Rockies
Scenic Byway over Independence Pass.

Just a lovely little lake off the side of the road.

This was a pit stop at a little trail called
The Grottos - the next picture will explain
why it's called that.  I just loved how this little
tree was glowing in the sunshine.

These cascades were so pretty!

And there were some pretty crazy rock formations happening here, too.

Back on the road, nearing the top of the pass above treeline.

At the overlook on top of Independence Pass -
which is above 12,000 feet.

And down we go!

These trees were pretty close to Twin Lakes - and oh my goodness
were they bright.  It was breathtaking!

Even Camp Hale had some nice color.