Who is She?

Can you guess which Biography Ashley choose for her last book report?  The third grade did a Wax Museum and the kids had to dress up in character.  They each had a 30 second speech they memorized about their character.

Ashley was Amelia Earhart of course!  And she was extra excited when we went to see Night at the Museum 2 and Amelia was one of the stars.

Where is He?

John felt like he was on top of the world, and it kind of looks like that.  But really he was just at the Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point on a Kindergarten field trip.

John with is buddies Simon and Zack.  They were working on the water for the Arc.  I was glad it wasn't working yet so I didn't have to keep him out of it.

John took the role of Tour Guide and showed the boys all the secrets of the garden including the Bear Cave.

And the next day I got to go into John's class again to celebrate his "un"birthday since his falls in the summer.  I got to witness first hand the O'Clock Rock to help them get their wiggles out.

I'm not sure what yoga has to do with it, but he was trying.

And he was so excited for his birthday spankings

How do Kindergarten Teachers make everything seem fun?

Foodstorage Lessons Learned

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  we are taught to be prepared and especially to have at least a three months food supply on hand.  We think that supply is for when there is a major disaster or we loose our job or something huge happens.

None of those things happened to us (thank goodness), but we have been relying on our storage this last month and a half.  I usually do major grocery shopping every two weeks when we get paid.  But at the beginning of April payday fell right before me and the kids were leaving for Las Vegas, so I didn't do much.  Then when we returned from Las Vegas my plantar fasciitis in my foot was bothering me so much that I couldn't do a lot of walking so I did the bare minimum of shopping.  Then I went to the foot doctor and had to stay off my foot for a week.  Then I was busy, then I got sick for a week and now it is the middle of May and besides a quick trip to the store for a few things here and there we have not done much grocery shopping.  And yet we have survived.  Meals in the freezer came in handy and having so much extra food we use all the time on hand has made all the difference.  The meals have not been gourmet, but we have not gone without.

Thank you to a Prophet who counsels us in the things we need today!

My Sweet Husband

On May 9 we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary.  It happened that Mark's work gave him a free hotel night for all the overtime he put in a few months ago, so we planned it for our anniversary weekend.  It is amazing how cheap Park City Hotels are when it is their off season, so we planned a get away night.  It almost got derailed when Mark's mom went in the hospital the day we were leaving, but since we were going to be gone for only a night we decided to go anyways.

When we got to our room I was surprised with this

Mark had told me all day how busy and crazy things were at work.  Well part of his "busy" was running up there and making our room look beautiful.  But the balloons were an extra touch from the hotel.  When he checked in they asked why he was there and then delivered water, popcorn and balloons to our room as an extra.

We had a fun evening strolling the empty Main Street.  Half the stores were closed for a month for their "Spring Break".  Then spent Saturday morning shopping at the Outlets and stopped in Salt Lake for lunch at Cheesecake Factory before returning to the rat race.  We were glad my mom was available to watch the kids for the night.

And I'm so glad to have such a wonderful husband and grateful we are sealed for all Eternity.

Hope of America

I apologize for my long lack of posting.  My daughter has reminded me often that I have not posted.  But I had to wait to get my new laptop to download pictures and then I got sick.  Like really sick.  Like my diet all week has consisted of water, water and more water.  I am very grateful for Charmin toilet paper.  And I've now moved up to the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast).  But I think I'm ready to try some chicken tonight, wish me luck.

But one of the big events that happened before my life stood still was Hope of America .  This is the second time Jessica has gotten to participate.  It is an elementary school musical program that is put on in conjunction with Freedom Festival .  Two years ago Jessica and Ashley got to participate in the floor show.  This year Jessica got to be part of the flag because she is in 5th grade.  And after 14 years of putting on this program they had to split it into two nights because so many schools wanted to be a part of it.  It is a moving and a great program to see.  Jessica is part of a white strip in the flag.  We never did find her, but we know she was there!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions . . . Ugh!

Sometimes I wish I were just impulsive.  But when it comes to spending a large amount of money I just can't do it.  

The current dilema is a new laptop.  Mine was getting slow and I was thinking in another 6 to 8 months I would start shopping for a new one.  But the laptop took things into its own hands and decided it was done with this life and ready to move on.  How dare it!  If you know me well, you know I'm very attached to my laptop.  It was heaven the day it came into my life and opened up new worlds to me.  I no longer had to sit in the dreary dark spider infested basement to work or surf the Internet.  I could roam the entire house and work.  This was a big deal with small children at home and living in a townhouse.  And with traveling at least twice a year on Pampered Chef business it was wonderful to take it with me and take notes on the laptop.

Friday I came to the conclusion that the hard drive was crashing on me.  THANK HEAVEN for mozy.com  I've been using it for a couple of months now and I'm so glad I don't have to worry about all my documents.  They are sitting somewhere in InternetLand waiting to be restored.  But of course I'm too cheap and just use the free version so I haven't backed up all my pictures.  I'm afraid I've lost most of my pics since January :(

So the shopping and comparing has begun.  Do I spend $500 and just get what I need to get by?  Or do I spend $800 and get something that I think will hold up a little more?  I know too much about computers to even think the $300 ones will make do for me.  Where oh where is the best deal out there?  Any suggestions?  The one I'm currently looking at is at Costco and will be on sale in another two weeks and I can get an extra $100 off it then.  Can I live two weeks with getting by on the kids computer?  Can John live two weeks of me using his computer all the time?  I want one that is light.  I take it with me to shows and whenever I travel and my current one is too heavy.  So will a 14" screen be okay or will it drive me crazy after having a 15.4" screen?  When did they come out with 16" screens?  Will that fit in my current laptop bag?  And a 17" screen is out of the question.

I'm open to any suggestions.  But I'm sure I better stay away from my cousin, Rus, because he will try and convince me to go with an Apple and spend twice the amount I'm thinking of ;)

T0 my Facebook friends, I'm not ignoring you.  I can't get on FB from the kids computer because of the safety software we have installed.  I'll be back up and running soon and will chat with you again!

My Yard is Seasonally Challenged

It is Spring and my yard is beginning to bloom all over.

I can't wait for this corner to be in full bloom

It will soon look as pretty as this corner

And I was so excited last Spring to discover this growing in my yard

I had never seen a bleeding heart bush until my mission and I fell in love with them.

Mark does not love them.  He has been known to chop them off and dig them up

But I had saved a few in our last place and I was sad to see them go.

It was a happy day to discover them growing in my new yard.

But what has confused my yard this morning is what was found in the front!

Why would a scarecrow and two Christmas Trees be in the yard in the Spring???

The Scarecrow answer the question for us with his nice note that was tucked in his pocket

It says . . . 

Dear Mark-

I hope you're happy with my new home, I know I sure am!  I've been waiting for someone to notice me for all these months and I can't tell you how pleased I am to know that it was you.  To be honest I've had my eye on you for awhile now too!  Thank you so much for caring enough about me to want a better place for me to live -- that closet was getting really boring.

I know we will be very happy together! 

-- Scarecrow

P.S. I hope you don't mind that I brought my tree friends.  I just can't imagine life without them!

If the real owners (not the kind neighbor who delivered them to our yard) would like them back, please let us know.  We will be happy to return them.  But I can understand why Mr. Scarecrow was tired of the coat closet in the church.

Las Vegas, Part II

The Las Vegas trip continues to be a great trip!

I don't think this pictures needs an explanation

Let's just say my favorite stores did not disappoint, and I did not disappoint them!

This is what happens when you only shop for yourself once a year.

It is great having a daughter old enough to babysit so I could do some serious shopping

I love this picture!  My mom looks tired.  Brent and Jessica are excited.  And John is moving so fast it can't catch him.  That is pretty much his speed all the time until he lays down long enough to fall asleep.

We were waiting for this to start

My very talented Sister in Law, Kyleen, playing Mary Magdalen in Savior of the World at the Henderson Amphitheater.  You would never know in her big solo that her microphone was not working and she was trying to belt it out.  We were glad they got it working for her next song.  It was an amazing show.  The spirit was so strong.  And it was so beautiful to be reminded of our Saviors birth and resurrection so close to Easter.  If you are in the Vegas area in the next week, be sure and go see it!

Here is proof that I was actually there!

Saturday morning brought brunch at Egg Works .  A little place that was recommended by Food Network.  They did not disappoint.  I loved my Key Largo Crepe.  But Ashley's breakfast was the funnest.

We then spent a few hours with our cute niece, Hailey, at the Cinderella Pageant Open Auditions

She took home "Most Beautiful"  for the Tot division.

The kids finally got some pool time at 6pm on Saturday night.  But it was still 80 degrees and the water was warm.  Oh how I wish we could stay another couple of days and just lay be the pool.  Why do I have to be a responsible adult???

I've managed to hit several really great places to eat.  When traveling I try to eat at places I can't eat at when I'm home.  So to name a few . . .
In-N-Out Burger
Freeds Bakery (oldest bakery in Vegas)
Dunkin Donuts
Pei Wei
Cheesecake Factory
Egg Works

I would say Spring Break was a great success. Now for the long drive home. At least we won't have rain, hail, sleet and snow like we did on the way down!

Las Vegas Part 1

We left this . . . 

And we hear a heck of a lot of snow

To come meet these guys

And see this

M & M in 3D!

And play with her

 

Can you see how excited Ashley is in this pic

And my gorgeous Sister-in-Law, Kris, is hosting us

And squeezing some fun in on her lunch break.

And keeping John safe on The Strip

And then we did this with a different Sister in Law, Kyleen.

And there isn't more joy than this from my niece Hailey

Somehow these two dressed alike this morning even though we aren't staying with her

And the anticipation of a ride

The brave 3 year old rode this, even though her big 5 year old cousin, John, would not

And this face thought he could sweet talk me into spending more money on carnival games

But this was the reality

And she is hoping this will give her some road experience

And I didn't hear a peep from them once I turned out the lights tonight.

The Naughty Spot

I think the trip to Vegas will be much quieter if we threaten them with this as the time out spot.

But there will be less wind resistance like this.

She looks like it was made just for her.

And he would have way too much fun riding like this.