It's about time!!

Emma finally lost a tooth! I was beginning to wonder if she'd ever lose those baby teeth. All of the kids in her class, and most of the ones in Kindergarten, have already lost at least one, if not several, teeth. Finally, it popped out last night! She didn't even cry, and the tooth fairy left her $5! What a nice tooth fairy. That would almost buy her a gallon of fuel, if she could drive! What ever happened to the tooth fairy leaving a quarter or a nickel? Maybe I should start losing some teeth!

Out of the cold

Well, I hope everyone had a happy Memorial Day. I know I did. At the last minute on Saturday, we decided to get the heck out of the cold weather and head for sunny St. George. Glad we did. It was in the 30's up here, but down there we hung out by the pool in 80 degree weather. It was a good trip. I wish I had gotten a picture of Maggie, though. She was at the pool, and the only way she would go near the water was if she had her goggles on. Which isn't that funny in itself, but the fact that she only had on a diaper made it hilarious. I'm pretty sure we could get arrested for that. A 2 year old in a diaper and goggles? How tacky!

Not that anyone will see this

But HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARTER!!! He's my oldest nephew, and he's 10! I was in college when he was born. Wow, time flies.

6 Funny things about Keli

I got this idea from Brittany, thanks Googie. I thought it would give my reader(s) some insight into my quirks and off-beat personality.

1. I'm an internet junkie. Most of you know this, but I think I have a problem. I love to find things that I want in retail stores, then come home and research the heck out of it, until I can find it half price with free shipping. I love free shipping. For example, I found black leather knee high boots in San Francisco at DSW for 38.00. Good price, right? Well, I decided I wanted brown ones just like them, but there are no DSW's here, and they don't have an internet store (I know, I thought that was strange too). So I went a-looking. And I found them for 20.00 and free shipping! Boscov's.com. Check it out. They are my pride and joy, and I tell everyone how much I paid. It's so tacky, but that's me. I also love blogging, internet games, and looking for good deals on vacations. It's sick, really.

2. I'm addicted to celebrity trash magazines. Every time I go to the store, I find at least two of them in my cart. I have no idea how they get there. I started out by justifying it saying that I had to keep up with the gossip so my clients wouldn't think I was out of it. And it just snowballed from there. Anything about Brangelina, TomKat, or (gulp) Brittany, and it's like a train wreck. I just can't look away, even though I need to. I just love to see "Who wore it best" and "Celebrities- they're just like us". I kind of envy Bonnie, she lives in Malibu, and I hear that's where all the celebrity sightings are. Although I'm sure they're not nearly as glamorous in person. A little airbrushing goes a long way. But alas, I've succumbed to their marketing. I'm a sheep. Baaa.

3. I'm not a morning person. I don't like waking up before 8:00 AM. It's just not me. I like to stay up late, and sleep in. I've been lucky til now because my kids are good sleepers and they'll sleep til 10 if I let them. I don't let them as often as I'd like to. We have 11:00 church, and that's just perfect for me. I can sleep in, and still make it to church on time (usually). But school has been another thing. Emma has to be at the bus at 8:25, so I can only sleep til 7:45. Arrrgh, those 15 minutes would sure take the edge off. I can't count how many times I've crawled back into bed to cuddle with Maggie and fallen back asleep while she watches cartoons. I'm a horrible mother.

4. I can't remember the last time I had an actual vegetable. I drink V8 juice, which has vegetables in it, but a solid, chewy, unprocessed vegetable hasn't crossed these lips in at least of couple of days. In fact, I think it was Sunday at Mom's. We had corn on the cob. And I threw it up, so I don't think it counts. Note to self... Corn doesn't go down so well. My kids do better, because Sean feeds them on the nights I work. He's pretty good about getting their veggies in. Like I said, I'm a horrible mother.

5. I really love my mini van. No, really. I do. I always swore I would never drive a mini van, but here I am. And I love it. I've tossed around the idea of selling it and getting a "cooler" car, but I just can't bear to part ways with it yet. Besides, it's paid for.

6. I want to live in the country. We are thinking of buying a 10 acre plot of land in Herriman, and I'm very excited. I want to have alpacas and fainting goats. Yes, they faint. Well, not technically, they just fall over because their muscles go rigid. They're really called myotonic goats. They're sooo cute. And I seriously love Alpacas. Which reminds me, I'll be visiting an Alpaca farm tomorrow so the girls can see just how cute they are. So, if this land thing goes through, then I'll be moving from the city, with very little yard that is cared for by gardeners, to a huge farm with goats and alpacas. Wow, what a change.


So there you have it. 6 funny things about me. That is all. Carry on.

A beautiful day

We have returned from the gorgeous contrasting colors of Bryce Canyon. It is a spectacular place. We did a few hikes, nothing too strenuous, and just enjoyed the views.

It's funny how a place like that can really get you thinking. Not so much about the time and circumstances that have to come together to create such an amazing place, but more about how when you look at it, it touches your soul. On the way home, as we drove through the various landscapes of the area, the red rock and hoodoos always caught my eye the most. I decided I know what it is. It's the contrast between the orange of the rocks and the blue of the sky. And then I got to thinking about life in general and how contrast is what gives us so much of what we love. Men and women, good and bad, right and wrong, babies and elders, it's what makes life life. No wonder it is such a beautiful place. Without contrast like that what would we have, really? Just more of the same mediocre sagebrush covered hills of life. Nice, but not spectacular. So I guess it gives me a reason to enjoy the differences that are all around me.

Do you do the Hoodoo?

We're off to Bryce Canyon this weekend. I'm quite excited because of all the years of traveling south on Highway 89, I've never been able to make the turn and head toward the Hoodoos of Bryce. So this is it. Finally. I'm hoping it lives up to my expectations, which I'm sure it will. I'm looking forward to an early morning bike ride to see the sights. And hopefully the kids will behave. They will. They always do. Note the sarcasm. I'll get some pics posted as soon as I can. Have a good weekend!

Well, we're back from Vegas and Logan. It was good times. Vegas was hot hot hot, and Logan was not not not. We had a lot of fun seeing my sister in Vegas, and I'm pretty sure Emma thinks she lives there. She just makes herself right at home. Of course, my sisters house is always so crazy that she just fits right in. This weekend we're off to Bryce Canyon, to which we've never been, and then I think we're taking a few weekends off for a while. I think our ward is starting to reactivate us. We had the missionaries drop by the other day, and our home teachers are trying to set up a day to come and see us after a year of never calling. Hmmm, they must think we're going inactive. Nope, just having a fun spring!
Emma going down the waterslide in Mesquite. She's so brave.










This would be Sean doing extreme water sliding. He's such a dork. Notice the sun glasses.










This is Emma and Maggie in Logan on Saturday. We just went up for the weekend and did a bike ride on Saturday and went swimming. We also went to Charlies for ice cream and saw the movie "Stick it". 3 stars for sure. Out of 10. But the girls liked it.

Here we go again!

It's off to Vegas! We are going down for my cousin's daughter's wedding. (What does that make her to me?) We'll be stopping in Mesquite on Thursday night and golfing down there on Friday morning. Then it's off to Vegas! We're staying at Circus Circus there, because they have an RV park with a pool. The rest of my family is staying at my sister's house in North Las Vegas, but if we stay there we won't be able to run our AC and it's going to be in the 90's. No way, Jose. We'll be going on a bike ride on Saturday morning, and then the reception is that night. It should be good times.
The truck and trailer getting ready to leave for Vegas, baby!










Emma and her cute new ''bookini".










Sean's new bike. A Giant OCR 1. Nice.










Maggie and her bean tower. She thought it was pretty funny.










My new bike. A Specialized Dolce Comp. I love it. I've put 65 miles on it this week!

Happy Easter!

Ahh, the thoughts of candy for breakfast. I love Easter. It's one of my favorite holidays, if not my most favorite. I just love when the Easter bunny brings yummy Cadbury mini eggs, and Hershey's kisses. Mmmm, my favorite. It's also my favorite holiday because I'm reminded of the Atonement. I know that no matter how horrible of a person I think I am, I can repent and be forgiven. What a nice reason to have a holiday. I hope you enjoy the pics of the girls with the spoils of Mr. Easter Bunny, or as Maggie likes to call it, E. Habit. Silly Habit, Trix are for kids.

A little scary

Two weeks ago we had a little scare at our house. It all started with what I thought was a lung infection, but it turned into something much more stressful.

I went to the doc because I thought I had pleuritis. Nothing major, but I wanted something for the pain. Well he thought we should have a CT scan done to rule out a blood clot. No biggie. So we have it and wait for the results. And wait, and wait, and wait. You know doctors have their own time line of life. Whatever. Finally after 3 hours of waiting, he calls and says "you can rest easy tonight knowing there is no blood clot". Uh, I knew that, but feel free to bill my insurance. But then he continues with "but there are a few things we need to get looked at." Okay, do I not have a heart, because I've heard that one before. Nope. Heart's accounted for. It's what shouldn't be there that worries him. "You have a lump on your right breast, 2 masses around your thymus, and 3 spots on your left lung." Yippie! What's a thymus again? I took anatomy, but I'm drawing a blank. Actually adults don't have a thymus, it shrivels up and dies when you hit puberty. But before that, it makes your T-Cells that fight infection. Now you don't have to take anatomy. Feel free to send me your tuition check.

So now I'm freaking out. I automatically think I have cancer. No way, I feel fine. I really do. So the last few weeks we've been through 2 mammograms, 1 ultrasound, 3 doctors and several vials of blood. And finally yesterday we get the news.... All is well. The lump on the breast is necrotic tissue. No worries about that. The thymus masses are remnant thymic tissue, weird, but not a problem. And the lung spots are granulomas from a previous a-symptomatic fungal infection. Whew. I think we're all breathing a huge sigh of relief.

I guess it takes something like this for me to wake up and realize what's important. I just hate that I'm that way. I think I've learned my lesson.

So far, so good

I have raised $155 toward my goal of $500 for the MS ride. I'm pretty excited about this. You can click the link on the title to go to my page and donate. Thanks!!!

Please donate to help fight Multiple Sclerosis.

I will be riding in the 2006 MS 150 bike tour in Logan. It is on June 23-24. My goal is to raise $500 before the ride. It is 150 miles over 2 days, and all proceeds will go to fund MS research. If any of you know someone who has this, or have personally been affected by this horrible disease in any way, you know how important medical research is. It takes over lives of otherwise healthy individuals. I have seen it up close, and have seen the effects on families and the individuals. Please make a donation in any amount. The above link will take you to my personal page where you can ePledge using a credit or debit card. It is Tax Deductible! I will also put the link on my sidebar. Tell your friends and neighbors, and let's get this going! I will give an update as the weeks go by. Thanks!

My new favorite drink

Yummy! It has a full serving of fruits and veggies in one 8 oz. glass. It's perfect for the morning with cereal or just alone. I have the Tropical Orange. Mmmmm.

No, I'm from North Carolina

A funny story about a girl in Emma's class.

So I volunteer in Emma's class 2 times a week, and a few weeks ago, a new girl named Brianna transfers into her class. The teacher tells me I need to work with her because she is from Italy and speaks very little English. I'm up to the challenge, so I take her out in the hall one day, and start asking her questions. No reply. I'm thinking she totally doesn't understand me, so I just keep talking. Blah blah blah. She keeps staring at me with this blank expression. So I finally say, "I hear you're from Italy. I went there on vacation once. It's very beautiful. Do you miss it?" Suddenly she sits straight up and says "No, I'm from North Carolina" in perfect English. Apparently she's not FROM Italy, but she's been there a few times to see her grandparents. The teacher just heard it wrong. She speaks perfect English, but is very shy, and won't speak up in class. Good thing she did, or we all would have thought she was Italian all this time!

What is this, you ask?

Well, I heard somewhere that it was a spinning bike. But I'm pretty sure it's a contraption for a slow and painful death, probably of a stroke or heart attack. It makes you sweat in places you never knew had sweat glands, makes you sore in places you thought muscles couldn't get sore, and makes your lady parts hurt like the most brutal form of child birth. I do have a point here.

For some reason, my little sister (and I mean little in every sense of the word), thinks we, including my older sister (notice I didn't say big), and my sister in law (also a tiny thing), should each take a leg of the Logan to Jackson bike race. Yes, that's Logan, as in high up in the mountains Logan, to Jackson. Yes, Jackson Hole, Wy. Now I'm no geography buff, but I can tell you this. Logan is high in altitude, and I'm pretty sure Jackson is higher. Doesn't that make this whole race up hill? Yep. And I know it takes a few hours to DRIVE to Jackson from Logan, so how long will it take us and how many miles is it? It's 239 miles, and will take approximately 3542 hours. Okay, they give us 18, but I'm pretty sure my first estimate is more on target.

So why am I doing this you ask? Let's just say it has something to do with a missing video tape of Keifer Sutherland and I. 'Nuff said. Oh yeah, and I'm a masochist. So begins my training. Spinning, spinning spinning. My head is spinning, too. I must be nuts!!

I just realized I've been slacking

It seems as though a week has passed and I have not blogged. I guess the withdrawal symptoms haven't been as bad as I thought they would be. Really, though, it's because I don't have much to blog about these days. After the cruise our life (at least mine), has been fairly calm. Cue the wood knocking action. If my loyal reader(s) would so like, I will post a list of my activities of the last week. Hold on to your hats.

1. Grocery shopping at the new Super Wal-Mart. Fun.
2. Picking up the trailer from the dealer. All fixed.
3. Doing laundry. Jealous?
4. Doing laundry. I know you are.
5. Taking care of Emma. Awww, she's so cute when she's sick.
6. Working. I love doing hair again.
7. Planning our next cruise. Hawaii here we come!
8. Deciding Hawaii is going to cost too much money and debating if it's worth it. Sad face here.
9. Saw Nanny McPhee. LOVED it!
10. Hoping no more sick kids. But they really are cute when they're sick.

So, that's about it. Like I said, nothing too exciting. Yawn. I'm hoping to get a nap in today since I have to work tonight. I love naps. But I doubt that will happen. Maybe I'll take the camera with me to work one of these days and get a picture of my girlfriends that make work so much fun. Then my blog will look more enticing. Toodles!

Ode to the Mexican Iceberg

A couple of birds upon you sit,
A big lonely rock covered in stuff.
The waves and water upon you lap,
But here you sit covered in stuff.
The birds upon are not in a coop,
And that is why you are covered in stuff.
If it gets too slippery, away they'll flew,
It serves them right for going number two!

This pretty much sums it up.

The first few days of the cruise went fine. Okay weather, not too much sun, but not particularly eventful, either. Cabo was beautiful, but the water was freezing, so the snorkeling was fast. I think mom and dad only did it for about 5 minutes, and I could only take about 30 since I had forgotten my earplugs, and the cold water was killing my ears. I did see an octopus, though. That was cool. Next stop, Mazatlan. Here's a tip when planning a trip to Mazatlan. Go to the nearest landfill, set up a lawnchair. Note the annoying seagulls. Next, have several of the most annoying people you know come by every 5 minutes offering to sell you some of the said refuse. That's pretty much Mazatlan. Puerto Vallarta. This is a place I could stay for a few days. Awesome food, and beautiful scenery. But this is when it all started. We took a boat to a city that has no roads in and no electricity. It was about an hours boat ride there. Well, 30 minutes in, Sean starts chumming for fish, if you know what I mean. So we stop to snorkel. Then Dad starts. And mom soon follows, although she never actually up chucked, but she was very green. So the theme for the day was what goes down must come up. We thought once we were on the ship, we'd all be fine. Not so. Turns out all the way home we had like 10 foot swells and most of the boat was sick. Not I. I thought I was so tough. Well, turns out I got sick, but not sea sick. Just a bad cold. So that is our trip. After going to the Carribean last year, the Pacific just doesn't measure up. I'm spoiled.

Oh baby, it's cruising time!

Yes 2, count them 2, days until we are going on our cruise! The best part? It's courtesy of Back to Basics. The only way to cruise is for free. Sweet. But the thing I'm almost more excited for (I said almost), is Magic Mountain! I've never been there, and I'm kind of a coaster person. I get way freaked out, and usually scream til I lose my voice (which makes Sean happy), but I love to be scared. So we'll be spending Saturday there, and Sunday through Sunday we will be on the high seas, matey. Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta. Nice. You have permission to hate me.