Remembering...

I woke up this morning remembering what it was like waking up 9 years ago on this day. I woke Zac up, took him to the kitchen so he could eat breakfast and get ready to go to Pre-School. I turned on the little TV that was sitting on my kitchen counter. The first plane had already hit the first tower. I went into my bedroom and turned on the TV and told Steve he needed to wake up and watch this. I went back in the kitchen with Zac. I watched with the rest of the world as the second plane hit the second tower. I remember what it felt like in our country that day. I remember what it felt like in the days that followed. I remember how we came together as Americans. I wish we could do that again. Without a tragedy this time.

We talked to the kids this morning and explained to them why this day is a special day in our country. We went to a nearby Botanical Center where we heard tale of a 9/11 Memorial that was built to honor the Utahan's who lost their lives on 9/11/01. We couldn't find the Memorial anywhere, but it was a beautiful place to be.

On a completely separate note, look how they trained this fruit tree to grow. We plan on planting a lot of fruit trees and I LOVE this.

Summer Fun In The Sun

We were lucky enough to get passes to a nearby water park this summer. My sister Lauren and Zac's friend Garrett and his sister Jess also had passes. We found ourselves soakin' up the sun and makin' waves twice a week all summer long. We were able to make a ton of fun memories. I can't believe summer is over and our time at the water park has come to a close. We got in one last day of fun last Friday. Here are some pictures of our summer water park adventures.

Lucky #13

Z Dawg turned 13 last Thursday! To celebrate we took him and some of his friends bowling. They had fun as you can see:

It Was An Off Road Kinda Day

We had a busy crazy summer. It left us no time to ride 4 wheelers. We decided we better get out and get some ridin' in before it was too late. So we headed for the hills this morning. My brother Sam was in town so he went with us. We had a fun time. We are all EXHAUSTED now! I'm kinda mad because my camera battery died before we got to the really beautiful part of the ride and the really BIG puddles. I am so thankful that we live in such a BEAUTIFUL place!

Deep In The Heart Of Texas

Last weekend I managed to find my way back to Texas after almost 6 years of being away. That is by far the longest stretch I have ever done away from my native land. My heart has been yearning to return for quite some time. I was planning on going this summer, but then things came up and I decided I wouldn't be able to make it after all. But then my Grandma up and decided to turn 80 and have a surprise party, my sister Kristy decided to come all the way from Moscow and she and my mom and sister Lauren were all going to Dallas, and my sister Farrah still lives there and, well, by golly, I just couldn't be left out! So we boarded a plane and made our way to the Big D. We got there August 19th and left early the morning of the 22nd, so it was a very quick trip. But we managed to pack it full of fun.

I'm tellin' you, we were 5 ladies who needed a break. We decided that we were going to be selfish all weekend long. We were going to do what we wanted when we wanted. And I made a deal with myself beforehand that I was gonna eat as much good Texas food as I wanted, guilt free! And I'm telling you right now. I did not disappoint. Neither did Texas. The above picture was taken not long after we got off the plane when we made a bee line for some good old Tex-Mex. Other menu items for the weekend include: Bart's fajitas and breakfast tacos, Jack-in-the-Box tacos, shaved ice, Maggiano's, brisket, and enough Blue Bell ice cream to...well, let's just say...I was eatin' Blue Bell before after and during each meal.

We went to Northpark one night to see "Eat, Pray, Love" and eat at Maggiano's. Here were are at NP in the TX store:

Bart, our personal chef making Breakfast Burritos:

Bart and Farrah working on stamps:

Helping Farrah get our her stamp orders:

Kristy, Diana and Coren

My grandma and her twin brother at their surprise 80th Birthday party

Me and my grandma

Kristy and mom

Allyson Kristy and Lauren

Thursday Morning Musings - Bust A Move

I have had a little vacay from the computer. It was kinda nice. I was outta town and when I got back, I managed to steer clear for several days. I was a-feared that once I got back on, that would just be it. I would be back on. But alas, my head is just way too full of stuff and it's time to clear it out.

First, this song is driving me crazy today. I was working outside this morning and it came on the radio and it has been playing in my head ever since. I was going to post the video but then I remembered my kids read my blog and they lead pretty sheltered lives, so here is a clip of Zac Efron dancing to the song:





I guess I should be thankful that this song is no longer stuck in my head, because it has been for over a week now:



Oh great. There it is again. Now I have no choice but to put my hands up and nod my head like yeah, move my hips like yeah. Say what? I just watched the video. Hey, guess I could have posted the Young MC video after all.



I should not be allowed to use teeth whitening toothpaste. Really. I never buy it, but Steve was out of town and he used some whitening toothpaste and asked me to buy some. So I did. And now I have little bleached out flecks on one of my favorite shirts. Why can't I brush my teeth without flecking?



My sister Kristy is here visiting from Russia. It has been fun having her here, but just last night she brought two evils into my home. And when I say evil I say it, E-viel. Like the fru-iets of the de-viel. Which reminds me, Kristy is supposed to watch that movie with me while she is here. But that's not the point. The point is this. Last night she made dessert crepes. And she taught me how to make them. Evil #1. And to make it even better, guess what she put in the said dessert crepes? Umm hmm. Evil #2. Nutella. I walked into my kitchen last night and saw it sitting there on the counter and stopped dead in my tracks. How dare she bring that hazelnutty cocoa heaven into my house! Nutella and I sadly parted ways a few years ago and unfortunately now we have become reacquainted. It didn't take long. Kinda like when you see an old friend and the two of you just pick up where you left off. Yep. Me and Nutella, we're like this now. *crosses fingers*

"And a Jay-Z song was o-on, and a Jay-Z song was on...."

Days Of '47 Weekend

July 24th is a State Holiday in these here parts. It is the day that the Mormon pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Steve managed to wrangle a few hours in between working all day and working all night so we could have a little family fun. We built a fire in our side yard and roasted hot dogs and then had 'smores. Once the sun went down we put on our own little fireworks display. It was a fun night!

I love this picture because you can see the moon coming up.

Steve was in the middle of working 100+ hour weeks. He worked all day and had to leave and work all night. He was in work mode and it was very hard for him to sit still. He sat still long enough to eat a hot dog and then the next thing I know he was up working on the yard. I had to force him to sit down.

The next day my Aunt Cynthia and her family came to have dinner with us. Cynthia and her husband, Asa were in town visiting my cousin Alisha and her family. It was good to see them again.

Lauren, Kay, Allyson, Alisha, Cynthia

Zac was making Alisha's daughter Emma crack up.

Addy had band aids all over her. My mom asked her what happened to her head and she took the band aid off to show her. It looks pretty serious right? Yeah, there was nothing there.

All 3 of my girls went crazy over Alisha's baby, Ellie. Hope you had fun girls. That's the last baby you are going to see for a while! (Knock on wood)

Monday Morning Musings - Whatever You Do, Don't Read This Post

My kids are always changing the ring tone on my phone. Last week they changed it to some really low bass gangsta music. I was unaware of the change and I was in line at the store and my phone started ringing. The guy checkin' me out (Not me, me. I mean, have you seen me lately? Checking out my purchases.) you should have seen the look on his face. I said, yeah, my kids changed my ring tone. He said, Oh, I was wondering what that noise was...

I have officially given up with arguing with Addy about breakfast foods. It is just not worth it and she is so darn stubborn. She doesn't want any normal breakfast food. Not even anything semi normal. Like she always wants a sandwich. So I try to talk her into a PB&J sandwich, 'cause that is kinda breakfasty. No. She wants ham and cheese. And pickles. And cheese balls. This morning I was cooking eggs and toast and I looked over and she was eating dill pickle relish. Straight outta the jar. BLAH!

Little kids don't make good liars. Addy took something she wasn't supposed to take the other day. I suspected her so I asked her about it. She said no, she didn't take it. Then she quickly said, "Don't go in my room!" So of course I went into her room. She ran ahead of me and slammed her dresser drawer shut and stood in front of it with her arms spread out and said, "OK, you can come in my room, but don't look in here!" How can I possibly get mad at something so dang cute!

I had a luggage carrier atop 'o me van for a year and a half. When I wanted it off, no one would take it off. But then, just the other day, I look outside and Steve is taking it off. Now I can never find my van when it is in a parking lot. I got out of the habit of remembering where I parked because I could always spot it so easily. Last week I was walking around like a ding-a-ling in the parking lot hitting the lock button on my key ring over and over again. I was at Walmart. Do you know how big that parking lot is? Gimme my luggage carried back!

This morning, Addy came into my room about 2 minutes before my alarm went off. I really wanted to lay in bed for a little longer. So I tried to talk her into going and waking up Zac for band. She didn't want to. She was all snuggled in too. So I brought out her imaginary friends. I said, "Addy, Team Umizoomi is going to wake Zac up and they want you to go with them, will you go?" She said, "Nope." So I leaned over the side of my bead and said, "Sorry Team Umizoomi. Addy doesn't want to go with you. Oh, don't cry. I'm sure she will get up and play with you later. You go ahead and wake Zac up." So she sat up and jumped off the bed. Then she walked back over to me and asked, "Mom, where is Team Umizoomi?" And I said, "They are right over there, and I pointed." So she leaned over with her hands on her knees like she does when she talks to them and said, "It's OK Umizoomi. I will go with you to wake up Zac!" Is it bad to encourage her imaginary friends?