More pics

This one is pretty self explanatory.



More of the Halifax harbor, or harbour, as they say in Canadia.


Glass blowers in Halifax. We sat and watched these guys for a good half hour.



One of the many cemeteries in Halifax. These headstones are made of Sandstone, and therefore don't weather too well. Some of them are paper thin. There is also a headstone here marking one of the Titanic victims. They date back as far as 1700.

Apparently the only picture I have of Bar Harbor. I'm sure I have more on my phone, I'll just have to upload those. The colors on this island don't do justice to the main island beauty.

Pics

Sorry about the lack of rotation on some of these.

Radio City Music Hall. Right down the street from our hotel. Anyone that knows me, knows that I would love to see the Rockettes Holiday Show. Too bad we were a week too early.

Sean in Central Park. Isn't he so GQ?

This is me on the balcony of our stateroom. It was super sunny, hence the squinty eyes.

Ellis Island. This is the view from our stateroom as we left the Port of New York.

And the Statue of Liberty. Also from our stateroom. I'm glad we picked Starboard just for this reason.

I'll post more pics. Blogger was limiting me to 5.

Sleeping in The City That Never Sleeps

Well, I've returned from my cross country jaunt. I know most of you (GABE) have been sitting around twiddling your thumbs waiting for my next witty post. Well, no more waiting, here it is. I'll try to be brief.

Day 1: Ate at Cheesecake Factory in Lincolnshire at 11:00 PM. Yummy.
Day 2: Met Realtor and looked at 20 homes in 8 hours. Only 3 possibilities.
Dinner with "Boss Man" at Wildwood. Yummy.
Drove to O'Hare and stayed in a sweet suite.
Day 3: Flew to NYC on the tiniest plane ever. I was so brave.
Found Hotel. Hotel was waaaayyyy tiny. But cool.
Took a bus tour starting at Midnight. Finished at 2:00 AM, and there was construction!
Day 4: Walked through Central Park. Took a cab to the Pier, and boarded ship. Took nap.
Day 5: Sea Day. Took nap. Ate food, not so yummy.
Day 6: Arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was up at 4:00 AM, and the port is beautiful!
Found a coffee shop and drank hot chocolate and at cinnamon rolls.
Realized Canadia has their own funny money.
Watched local glass blowers. Cool.
Went to Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, and saw Titanic exhibit. Very interesting.
Had Seafood Chowder, and fries with vinegar. Weird, but good.
Boarded ship, took nap.
Watched freaky family for entertainment.
Day 7: Arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine. Again, up at 4:00 AM to watch the ship dock.
Realized people talk funny in Maine. Bah Hahbah especially.
Ate crab balls and lobster rolls for lunch. So Yummy!
Took tour of Acadia National Park, very cool. Saw Martha Stewart's home.
Boarded ship. Took nap.
Watched funny comedian for entertainment.
Day 8: Arrived in Boston, Massachusetts. Up at 7:00 AM.
Had Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast. So Yummy!
Followed the red Freedom Trail around to all the tourist sights.
Had a good time talking in British accents.
Ate chili in bread bowls, and Gelato.
Boarded ship. Took nap.
Sang Karaoke. Scary.
Day 9: Arrived in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Very, very windy.
Had to tender to shore in 12 foot waves.
Rented car to explore island. Pretty cool island.
Ate the best nachos in a sea side tavern.
Realized a hurricane was headed our way.
Boarded ship. No nap.
Tried to eat dinner, but all fooded out.
Was rocked to sleep by huge waves.
Day 10: Arrived in NYC. Disembarked ship and headed for airport.
Upgraded to first class, and hung out in first class lounge for 6 hours. Niiice.
Flew home.
Home sweet home.

That's pretty much it. I'll post photos after I get them uploaded. I've been stuck behind mountains of laundry, so no time for fun, yet!

Off I go!

Well, folks. I'm off. Off to the Windy City, and then to the Big Apple! If I knew any cute names for Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Bar Harbor Maine, or Nova Scotia, I would use them too. Be back in a week or so!

Government, sheesh!

My passport is nowhere to be found. And I'm not the one who lost it. It's somewhere between Miami, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. I need it to go on the cruise. And I leave tomorrow. Let's just say the poor customer service guy at Passports and Visas.com has the patience of Job, especially after dealing with my rants and raves. Thank goodness I had my Birth Certificate for a back up. Oh, wait. Nope, no birth certificate. Hmm. So, it's off to the Utah State Department of Health to the Vital Statistics Department. Downtown. And did I mention this is the State? I know Hester works for the State Department, as does Dale, and now Bryan too, but I can assume they all have some knowledge of what customer service entails.

Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I must have good luck. Getting my drivers license renewed wasn't too bad either.

So now I have a certified copy of my birth certificate, no passport, and a renewed drivers license. I should be okay leaving the country. I'm only going to Canada, it's not like they have to worry about me staying there or anything....

I'm also pretty sure that now that I have my birth certificate, my passport will show up. Had I not gotten the BC, the passport would stay lost. Is that Murphy's Law? And who is this Murphy person? The same Murphy from the Romance?

.

Deep thoughts

This is probably a first for me. Or maybe a second, but either way, it's unusual for me.

I'm about to go deep. Yes, people, I've been thinking. Scary.

In hearing of the Malibu fires that have affected Bonny and her crew, and especially after hearing Esme say she took a box of "things money can't buy", I started wondering about what I would take if I had to leave my home so quickly.

And honestly, I'm not sure.

I know I would grab my fireproof safe with all the important documents, birth certificates, passports (which there will be another post about shortly), car titles, and insurance info. I would grab my scrapbooks. I would grab the Wedding Egg from Nunn Bee, and the quilts from my mom. After those things, I'm not really sure what else I would take. What else would be irreplaceable? So many things are merely material. It kind of makes me sad that so much of my life is replaceable. I guess I should take more time and effort to make things special. What is irreplaceable to you? What are your "things money can't buy"?

The latest

This week has been unusually serene. Especially considering I'm leaving in 3 days for 10 days. So that translates into not much to blog. So sorry. But for those of you on the edge of your seats, here is the latest from our home front.

And Meg, these bullets are just for you.

• It would seem some thoughts and prayers are in order for Bonny and her family, as they battle the Malibu fire near their home. You can see the updates here.
  
• My passport is nowhere to be found. We had it expedited in 4-8 days, and 8 days later, still no sight of it. Hmm, what will I do to get on that ship?
  
• Gretta came down with the pink eye, which then spread into the other eye as well. Now we have to put gunky antibiotic ointment in her eyes twice a day. Try doing that on a wriggling 9 month old.
  
• Gretta is 9 months old today. 15 pounds, and a super crawler.
  
• I have a new addiction. StumbleUpon, on Firefox. Holy crap, this thing is addicting.
  
• The red paint in my kitchen and up my stair well has been discontinued. Too bad we have another coat to do on one wall, and a few touch ups on the existing red. I wonder how that will look? The new red is close, but I don't think it's close enough. Stupid Lowes.
  

That's pretty much it. I will try and figure out how to post from my email account so you won't have to wait 10 days for an update. I know how torturous that can be.

Halloweenies

Last night we were treated to a wicked fun party, courtesy of Mom and her mad party throwing skills.

Thanks, Mom!

They had soup in bread bowls, and doughnuts. It was muy delicioso. I made Gabe/Laura's tortellini soup with ground turkey. Super yummy. You can find the recipe here.

Later today will bring:

A trip to the craft store for Halloween party invitation shiz.
3 kids getting flu shots.
Gretta getting a prescription for antibiotics for her pink eye (thanks mom!).
Probably laundry.
Me battling with Maggie for her to wear pants. She only wants to wear "soft shorts" and it's 50˚ outside.

Good times.

Random

I have pink eye.

Maggie has a fever and won't eat.

Gretta is pulling up on anything that she can get her hands on.

Emma has decided it's better to do her entire homework packet on Mondays, so she's free the rest of the week.

Sean and I saw each other for a total of 1 hour yesterday. Today will probably be the same.

I have to start packing. I do, I do, I do.

We leave for our cruise in a week and a half! Yay!


.

Excellent

Thanks to Napoleon "Snaggletooth" Dynamite for leading us on a not so excellent adventure down the lazy Colorado River. Fun.

See more details of our wicked fun trip here.

Actually, what made my trip was this.

Have you ever needed to use the facilities, like, NOW?

I was in that mode, and at the Maverick, the line for the ladies room was 10 deep. No way was I going to make it! So what do I do? Use the Men's room, of course!

Only come to find out a little too late, the toilet doesn't flush. I'm looking around waiting to be Punk'd. I guess that's Karma kicking my butt for using the Men's room. I put my plumbing expertise to work, and saved my butt. Whew! We all had a good laugh about that!

Moab is a cool place, probably one I will miss quite a bit when we move to the Midwest. :(

The red country

It's off to Moab we go. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of last year.

I'm taking "Knocked Up" to see what that's all about. Sean bought it at Wal-Mart while us gals were in Seattle.

I guess that means he got Knocked Up at Wal-Mart. I'm guessing he's probably not the first.

Scary seven layer dip

For the "recipe", and a cute picture, see here.

When I grow up

I was asked by Maggie what I want to be when I grow up.

I said a Sea Otter.

She said she will be a super hero, and she will fly and swim, and save me from the kelp.


Um, okay.

The Ghettos of Barrington

Well, we return. Again. Only to leave in 3 days. Again.

I'm not a traveler. I'm a homebody.

So our trip to Chicagoland was fruitful. And a bit discouraging. We found a lot of places to live. A lot of places we can't afford. With property taxes at 2.5%, it's killing our bottom line. But we have a decision to make.

1. Do we want an acre of land 45 minutes from Sean's office? Problem, the HOA will not allow any outbuildings (ie. a garage big enough to hold our trailer), or for us to park the trailer on the side of the house. So what's the point of an acre that you can't do anything on?

2. Do we want a house in a cookie cutter neighborhood like we live in now, 10 minutes from Sean's office? Problem, the land is too small for us to park the trailer on the side of the house. Do I want to spend $100 a month for storage? Although, the smaller property comes with lake rights, and is right across the street from the beach of the small-ish lake. Possibly sell the trailer and buy some wave runners?

We did drive through some areas that had homes on 300+ acres, with ranch houses and barns as big as neighborhoods. Barrington is one of those. If only there was a ghetto. We didn't get to see any of downtown Chicago, since Sean's office is over an hour away from there. We looked into Wisconsin, but property tax isn't that much less, and the commute would be brutal, so that was nixed. Hopefully we can narrow down some homes and get out with a Realtor and see them in a few weeks.

Other things that happened:

Sean puking on the plane after THE WORST take off ever.
Our "little person" car.
Marble Columns.
RED LIGHT! SCREEEEECH!
No sense of direction, due to lack of mountains.
Lake Michigan. Freezing, BTW.


Many, many many thanks to My "'Da Bomb" Mom, and of course Meg, for watching the girls. It sure made life easier not having to schlep around 3 kids. Gretta is having Nunn withdrawals.

Where to begin

I've just been overwhelmed with the thought of packing. I can't even seem to begin to wrap my mind about the task that lies ahead. Luckily Sean and I both love dejunking, so we don't have too much stuff, but we do have three kids and all the stuff that goes along with that. I've perused the internet fully on tips to move seamlessly, but still, I find myself in a funk when it comes to organizing it in my mind. What are some ways you all (or should I start saying y'all?) have found to make the moving process easier?

October Brings...

October ushers in so many things. Especially in our family. For some reason, we have numerous birthdays in October. I guess that's what happens when there's an extremely cold winter.

3rd (Today)- Meg. 26!
5th- Mom. 29!
6th- Mckinley. 9!
7th- Maggie. 4!
21st- Troy. 37!

Other things October brings:

Wind. Ick.
Election Candidates calling incessantly asking for my vote. I must be popular!
Chicago trip this weekend.
Moab trip next weekend.
10th Anniversary cruise/NYC on the 26th.
And of course, Halloween.

I hope I didn't forget anyone.

Home is the most important place in the world

I made it back from the land of the rain and coffee. Seattle is a very cool town! I love how it's very outdoors minded, and they recycle everything. Apparently even people, as homeless people are everywhere. We visited the Space Needle. There is seriously a Starbucks at the top. It's quite a ride up, about 41 seconds, and worth every one at that!


We did the Underground tour. Which is very cool, especially if you come from a construction family. Yes, the eye beams are old, but since they are founded into 36" of concrete, they are stable. And yes, the keystone arch is the strongest form in construction. It will hold for centuries, apparently. Plus we got to see a guy in a kilt. Cool.


This is the lock going from Puget Sound into Lake Washington, which then joins Lake Union. If you look closely you can see the water level we're at, and then behind the lock you can see the level of the lake. The water is let in to the lock via gravity and pipes, and in about 10 minutes, we rose nearly 8 feet. At low tides it can raise a vessel as high as 26 feet.


And this is one of my favorite moments. This is one of the many, many homeless people that come out at night. You can't read his sign, but I was trying to take a picture without him chasing me and asking for money. The sign reads "My father was killed by street ninjas, I need money for karate lessons". I would think teeth or a shower would come first, but that's just me.


And me on our ghetto shuttle to the airport. It actually wasn't that bad. Just a big bus. It rained so hard on Sunday, I was thankful it was our last day. The other days were just right. A little chilly, unless you're Meg, then you freeze, but I didn't think it was bad at all.

Other fun things:

Jill saying "HUH?"
Finding a great store in the mall with blouses for $34!
Giggles getting tickled on the face by a fish butt.
Kelli taking one right in the face!
Me texting Sean about the homeless guy with a sign, and walking into a sign!
A Pikes Market Labradoodle/Wooley Mammoth.
A wiener dog with a cowboy hat on.
Crepes and Limonata!
Mom noticing the plethora of homosexuals. Good eye mom, good eye!

* And how could I have forgotten the funniest, craziest, hilariousest thing ever! Mom hitting innocent little defenseless Gracie in the face with the check from Ruth's Chris in an attempt to foil our plans for paying for her dinner. We got it, thanks to Gracie's sacrifice. Boo-Ya!

Fun weekend, and we need to do it again. Next time, Chicago!

Sleepless in...

Here we come, baby! It's a girls only weekend, and we're going to ROCK IT ALL WEEKEND!'Specially my Mom, who is the BOMB! Harbor tour, Underground tour, nice dinner, and shopping, shopping, shopping! My sweet sisters are my sweet homies. Gotta love 'em.

See you Monday!

The weekend

Well, we had a fun weekend. After realizing that we hadn't used the Trailer in all of September, we figured we better get out for the last chance weekend. Good idea. We headed about 15 miles from home up Big Cottonwood Canyon. After 15 years of traveling hours to Yellowstone and never seeing a moose, what should go tromping through our campground but this:
And this.

Thats a whole Moose Family, in case you can't tell from the great picture, courtesy of the BB Pearl.


And then we drove over Guardsman Pass into Midway/Heber Valley. Look at that view. I don't remember a time that I've ever seen the leaves so pretty. We must have been right on the money when it came to foliage viewing timing.

Other fun things that happened:

Meg filled up the Audi's trunk with wood and joined us for Tin Foil Dinners. Fun.
The Boy Scouts next to our camp decided our wood was better for stealing.
Sean throwing lighter fluid on the campfire and scaring the crap out of the kids.
Why does this seem to be a recurring theme?
The batteries in the trailer going dead so the heater wouldn't work. Not fun.
The drive over Guardsman. Fun.
The rain. Not fun.
Watching "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" over and over and over. Not fun.
Deciding at 7:00PM to leave because the rain was just too much. Fun.

Reelowkateeng

News. Sean's company has decided to shut down the Salt Lake City operations.

Bummer.

As of December, many, many people will be out of work.

But my Sean, "The Bull", has come away unscathed. Or so it depends on who you ask.

Ask my mom, and she'll tell you differently. Ask me, or Mr. Bull, or the kids, or the in-laws, and they say go for it! Sorry, mom.

So it appears the Frozen North of Wisconsin will be our new home. Sean will be working in Chicago. Sounds fun, eh?

So, from all you pros that have moved across the country, I need some tips. Please, please, please, give me tips on how to make this easier than the scenario I have in my head.

3 skin shades, and what I did when mom wasn't looking

The "Girls". Light, medium, and dark. And freakin' cute, if I do say so myself. Also, 3 stages of teething. How cute is Gretta's sweater? Thanks to Laura's mom Sue for making it BY HAND! She rocks.
When mom wasn't looking, Gretta made her way under the table. For those that haven't seen the behemoth in person, it's 6' square. And quite the jungle for baby to play in. Also notice the random piece of paper in her hand. Who knows where that's been.
Mornings are hectic, what can I say. No time for details such as watching after the littlest.

What we did for family night.

After a speedy trip to the local Wal-Mart, we went to Sonic for a refreshing Cranberry-LimeAid. Mmm.

And then Sean did this.



I laughed my butt off!

Jill, this is for you.

Today is National "Talk like a Pirate" day.

Jill will like this.

I hear, so will Aaron.

I don't want any details.

Now I lay me down to sleep.

Things I'm looking forward to today:

1. Going to Costco. Love Costco almost as much as Ikea.
2. Chilling with my kids. G is so fun now that she's crawling everywhere, and Maggie has really grown up and that makes it much more fun to hang out with her.
3. Having my King Size Bed ALL.TO.MYSELF


Sean has a sleep test tonight. He may have sleep apnea. So for one night he gets to sleep while hooked up to dozens of machines and being watched by strangers through a window. I hope they don't mind a little flatulence.

Thank you, thank you, Ikea

The Billy BYOM bookcase has found a new home in our home. Only mine isn't blurry.

As has a stainless steel shelving unit. Not this one. I don't own a crappy wood deck.


And Emma scored a cute hot pink chair for her room. Not this one. It goes with a desk. No picture of that, but you know the type, square, silver legs, blah blah.
So all in all, we got cool stuff, but no picture of it yet. You'll just have to wait and see.

Is that bad?

This morning I got out of the shower and what did I find? My newly mobile baby had crawled under my bed and was playing with a plastic bag. Bad. But wait, there is something in that plastic bag. Drano. Worse.

She's fine.

Mom's going to be much more careful when it comes to what is under the bed.

Which came first?

Here is Maggie eating what we refer to as "Olie Eggs". She loves them. The tradition continues.

My Celebrity Look Alikes

Thanks to Kalli for this funny little tid bit.

Say it the English way.

It's official, she's mobile! My other girls weren't even close to crawling at 7 1/2 months, but here's Gretta, cruising all over on hands and knees. I guess now I have to start picking up the floor for reals.

And here she is just looking cute. She's had croup, so if you could hear her raspy little voice, it would just make your heart melt.
For some reason the flash on the camera makes my floors look clean and shiny. It's merely an illusion.

Check it out!

I know most of you are far away, but I'm just letting you know anyway.

I've started a new recipe exchange blog/dinner get together page. My hope is that those that are close will join in and we can have a dinner once a month and each bring a dish and accompanying recipe for everyone else. They'll also be posted on the blog for ease and for those that can't make it to the dinner. But feel free to post any recipes you want, just know they may be used by us moms.

Are you chicken?

I made yummy chicken enchiladas the last weekend. They are a vacation perennial, and since we were planning on going on vacation for the weekend, before our trip to the hospital, we've been eating them ever since. Well, the other night I left them sitting out. All night. And then I put them back in the fridge and ate them for lunch. Sean had a fit! My question is would you have eaten them too?

Another adventure

Today I asked Meg a question. Do you think it's weird that we, as sisters, do everything together? I mean, I think it's normal for sisters to do lunch, or go to the mall, or get a mani-pedi, which we do, but to attach a 16 foot kayak to the top of a truck and head off to the wild blue just doesn't seem normal. And trust me, normal is a relative term here. I guess I should just consider myself extremely lucky to have such an adventurous counterpart. I was also a little concerned that we looked like lesbians. Which is fine, don't get me wrong, but I was worried that people would look at Meg and think "what is she doing with someone like her?". But all stereotypes aside, we had a great time. We met a guy with his 3 four legged kids who just happened to chill on our beach all afternoon. The dogs were cute, very playful. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't like a strange dog licking my face and leaving sweater-size chunks of fur all over my wet body. Gross. I think he might have had the hots for Meg. Gross. He also said he would lay out naked on that beach when no one was around. Gross. And after a paddle suicide, and depleting the ozone single handedly with our black smoke spewing diesel truck, we made it home safe and sound. Another great adventure under our belts. Now we have to start thinking about a winter activity. Any ideas?

Startin' 'em young.

My familia will be so proud to see Gretta enjoying her weekly update of celebrity trash.
She really likes TomKat, and doesn't care much for BrAngelina. I have no idea where she gets this.

Poshycat?

I guess Amy and I copycatted each other. For a view of my new haircut, check out Meg's blog.

PyeloWHAT?

If only somehow I'd known that this:


Would turn into this:
In just a matter of hours. Like a few hours. Fast, way too fast. Maggie went from fine, to feverish, to sleepy, to vomiting and listless in about 6 hours. She is notorious for this. But this time was different. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. No sore throat, no ear ache, no tummy ache, nothing. After a night of sleep, and still not being better by morning, we ended up at Primary's. Can I just say a big Thank You to them for being awesome. IV fluids, several well meaning doctors, and finally an intern that took it upon himself to do it right. We end up with

Drum Roll Please....

Pyelonephritis. Lay terms: Kidney infection. And after a long night in the hospital, she goes to this:
Thank goodness kids are so resilient. She's much better now. Hopefully we'll have no long lasting effects from this, but there is still one test to be done once all the infection is gone.

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I'm really grateful for:


1. My Spanx Cami. Holy spandex, Batman! This sucker hold in all the jiggly parts, and makes all the bumps nice and smooth.



2. Cream of chicken soup. Thank you, creamy easy goodness, for making me feel like a chef.
3. Teachers who think parents need to do craft projects at home for showcasing in class, instead of using class time to teach. Um, can't we stick to math and science?
4. My wicked sense of humor. See #3.

About me from A-Z

This is my blog, so therefore you're getting a great big dose of ME!

A is for Anxious
B is for Brazen
C is for Colorful
D is for Ditzy
E is for Ear wax.
F is for Funny
G is for Grateful
H is for Homebody
I is for Instigator
J is for Jiggly
K is for Killer hair
L is for Laughing
M is for Munchies
N is for Notes
O is for Odd
P is for People person
Q is for Quiet (ha)
R is for Rambunctious
S is for Sexy
T is for Tan
U is for Ugly skin
V is for Valium for airplanes
W is for Water
X is for XXX rated?
Y is for Yellowstone
Z is for Zits


So there you have it folks. All things that describe me. I hope you can make it through the day now.

Can you hear it?

Can you hear my shout of joy?

It's my "First day of school" shout for joy!

And there's a dance, too. I bet you wish you could see me dance, don't you?

Today is Emma's first day of THIRD grade!

Third.Grade.

I remember third grade. I think my mom still had to come sit in my class with me so I wouldn't cry. And I'm pretty sure I remember Lowell taking me to school so my mom wouldn't have to deal with me. Looking back, I was a pain in the butt. Sorry mom.

But I digress.




Here is the woman of the hour. I think we did pink and brown for last years first day of school too, but whatever works. She loves this outfit because it's MaryKate and Ashley (thanks, Wal-Mart). I guess she doesn't know about the anorexia or dropping out of college, but I'm certainly not telling her. She got t new backpack and a pink camo lunch box. How cute is that? I just can't believe it's third grade for her. She's growing up so fast, and becoming quite the little lady.


*Note to bus stop moms: I understand that it's early, and I certainly don't get all decked out to take my kid to the bus stop, but please, please, please, don't wear boob-high acid wash mom jeans with 4" heels and a cut off shirt. Thank you.

Fun times!

This weekend we went on the Ward campout with my parents Ward. The good old Riverton 7th. Times have certainly changed, some of the people have changed, but it's still the same, fun loving, crazy Ward that I grew up in.

Little G doing her famous "drooly face". Don't you just want to eat her up? This is the position she assumes when she wants to be picked up. How can you resist?

Madison, Emma, and Maggie singing songs with the primary at the camp out. We love having Madison along, she is such a nice girl. She and Emma are the cutest girls, and they play so nicely together. We just don't have to worry when she's around, because we know that together, they are probably more responsible than most of the adults. We had a small "gasoline on the fire" moment, but nothing too bad.

And here they are singing "We are Children Holding Hands Around the World". Despite the picture, that paper on the right is not on fire. It was dusk, and I had no tripod, so lay off. The folding chair was the best I could do on such short notice. It held fairly still, but apparently not enough.

It was a fun time away, short and sweet. It was cool up there in Spanish Fork Canyon, we had to use our jackets at night. Unless you're Meg, then you have to use a jacket all the time. We had sloppy joes and potluck salads and desserts, with dutch oven cheesy potatoes thanks to Brent Hales. He knows his way around a potato. The evening was topped off by the primary singing, a few of the young women singing "Princess Pat", and then s'mores. Breakfast was early the next morning, and after being up all night with a stuffy baby, I slept right through it. I heard it was yummy. All in all, it was a great weekend.

Check out this funny eBay ad, thanks to Betsy.

I laughed my butt off.

Truckin' Mama

Today I get to do one of my most favorite things. I get to pull the trailer all the way to Spanish Fork (or as you'd properly say if you were a true Utahn, Spaneesh Fark). I love pulling the trailer. I really do. It's cool to see people when you pass them going up a hill, or pulling into the Wal-Mart and taking up 14 parking spaces. I also like knowing that I can do it. If I ever had to do the trailer thing all alone, I could. Not that I would want to, I definitely like having Sean around to lift the heavy stuff, and reach the high shelves. But I can do it all, and that makes me feel empowered.

What she's doing now

Today is Gretta's 7 month "birthday".
Here's what she's up to now.


Looking cute.
Getting a tan line from her helmet.
Holding her own bottle.
Eating carrots, beans, applesauce, pears, and bananas.
Rolling all over the place.
Eating anything she can get her hands on.
Sleeping all night.
Yelling at the top of her lungs.
Saying "mama baba" when she's hungry.
Swimming and splashing.
Loving the outdoors.
Getting up on her hands and feet, pushing off, and landing on her head. Crawling won't be far off now. I'm sooo not ready for this.

Update on the Maze.

Meg and I had so much fun in Logan on Saturday that we've decided to go back, this time for an extended weekend. The Maze is pretty darn cool, and we were both surprised that more people don't know about it. We also decided it would be a wayyy cool date, ahem, Spencer.

The drive to Logan was about as frustrating as you can imagine. A normal 1 1/2 hour drive turned into 4 hours, plus an hour stop for dinner and pee. After arriving in Logan at 10:00 PM, and Sean getting things situated despite the rain, we settled in to watch Zodiac. A good, long, interesting movie, probably better suited to be watched in the earlier evening hours. At 2:00 AM, we nestled in to sleep. Just as we start to doze off, the loudest crash of thunder I have ever heard breaks the silence. Instantly I'm upright in bed, and Sean just lays there laughing. Gretta promptly awakens, and Meg has to comfort her until I get my wits about me enough to get up and rock her myself. It was so loud, it set off car alarms. The rains came down, but only for a few minutes. We had a restless night of sleep after that, as you can imagine.

We launched at 8:00 AM in chilly, breezy, weather, with a small threat of a storm hovering above us. After Meg stopped to pee, we started upstream, and followed the buoys marking the main channel. It wasn't long, however, that Meg said she had to pee. We didn't plan on going too many miles up, so I told her she could go when we turned around and paddled by the ramp. A few minutes later, Meg informs me that she indeed has to pee. There was a sense of urgency in her voice. I told her I would hold her kayak while she dangled her butt off the side to pee. I was hoping she would accept my offer of "help", because I kinda wanted to see her fall in. But she said she could wait. A few minutes more, and Meg informs me she has to pee...NOW! She was indeed desperate. Meg immediately beaches the kayak, and heads off into a cattle field. Have you ever heard a mad cow? We have, and it's not a pretty sound. She did her thing, and off we went, no near drownings to speak of.

We continued on, and a short time later, I hear Meg from behind shouting "Alligator!" Um, what? I look back and Meg is stranded on a sandbar, and water is splashing on her from each side of the kayak. What the ? Turns out the Catfish beach themselves on the sandbar, and she must have landed right in the middle of their little pow wow. Although I think she's still convinced there was an Alligator. Understandably, we turned around at that point and headed back downstream.

As we paddled past the ramp, I asked Meg if she had to pee.

Nope.

We paddled a few more strokes, and I asked Meg if she had to pee.

Nope.

So we head North, and just as we are about to go under the road, Meg informs me that she does indeed have to pee. Back to the ramp we go.

Is anyone keeping score? Meg=3 pees, Keli=0 pees.

Anywhoo, you can see why we need an extended weekend next time. And maybe a catheter. But we did get to see some pretty cool sights.

A bunch of beached Catfish.
Mad cows.
Several Great Blue Herons.
Several Ibis'.
A redneck catching the biggest freakin' Carp I've ever seen.
Sean nearly capsizing a kayak because he can't be outpaddled by a woman.

Needless to say, we had a good time. We always do with Meg. She's quite a woman. Any guy would be lucky to have her. I'm just glad I have her no matter what.

*Next on the docket, tennis this week, camping this weekend, and then perhaps a paddle around Causey reservoir.

To the North

Meg and I are heading North to Logan this weekend. Should be fun. We'll be using our newly found kayaking expertise to navigate the Wetlands Maze of Cutler Marsh. Hopefully we don't get lost. Hopefully there are no bugs, eww. Or other wildlife, eek. Or too much grass and goop in the water, gross. Do we sound like hard-core or what? Wish me luck!

Remember when...

Tonight I attended a wedding.

A beautiful wedding.

My rockin' cousin Chuck* married Shelly*, and at this wedding they had a video. It showed the usual pictures of them as babies and children, and of course pictures of them together as their love grew. Awww. But as I watched this video, I was reminded of just how fast time goes by. It's dumb, really, to get so wrapped up in everyday life that you forget the meaningful moments.

But it happens.

And now Chuck, the cute, spiky haired, tan, little monster, that no one could understand but his mom, is now a husband. And here I am, wondering how he grew up, and I haven't aged a bit. Can it be possible that in the figurative blink of an eye, it will be Emma getting married? And where has the time gone? What have I left behind for her to learn from and grow from?

I'm left to wonder of the impact that I'm making on her life. I hope she takes all the good intentions I have, and knows that's the real person I am. I hope she doesn't see "The Avoider" I can be, or the social anxiety that plagues me, or the way I use humor to mask my low self esteem. I hope she only takes the good, and leaves the bad.

I hope, I hope, I hope....

What I really hope is that she could stay little forever, and never grow up to know of adult pressures. To eat with her hands and get food on her face. To swim like a fish, and not care how she looks in a swimsuit. To make friends with a person just because they like to slide down the curly slide too. To never have heartache, or peer pressure, or disappointment.

But all these things are sure to come. And I can only look back and remember when she was my baby, my baby bear, my wiener dog.

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Not that I'm implying that "Chuck" has ever been innocent in his life.

It's still not a fungus, but...

It doesn't look like skin cancer either. Thank goodness. The doctor I saw today said it looks like it could just be an infection of some kind, and a week on antibiotics will either clear it up, or if not, then we'll know for sure what it is. So I guess there will be an update in a week.

There you go Meg. :)

It's not a fungus!

For about 2 years now I've had a little spot on my arm. It looks like a scar, but it constantly scabs and peels. Kinda gross. I never really thought much about it until about a month ago. I got a red, peeling, weeping, open sore next to it. It wouldn't heal. I tried neosporin, lotions, and of course more sunshine, but I couldn't get it to go away. So I decided to head to the Doc for some topical ointment. Don't you hate the word ointment?

Turns out, it's not a fungus! Yay!

Not so fast. Seems as though I may have picked myself up a little skin cancer. (Insert feigned shocked look here). I know, I know, hours in the sun year after year is probably not a good idea, but with a pool, and kids, what can you do? I do put on sunscreen. SPF 4, but still, it's sunscreen. I'll know tomorrow what we have to do, but it's probably just a little Basal Cell Carcinoma, a very common and easily treated form of skin cancer. Really, it was just a matter of time.


To the pool!!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Yep, it's my birthday folks.

31.

I scored a sweet new white BlackBerry Pearl from Sean, and some cool pink shoes courtesy of Laura.
I have the best friends and family!

We did dinner at Harry's in South Jordan. I love their connect roll and coconut shrimp. Yummy!
I had a great day. Thanks everyone!

10 things I can't live without

10 products I can't live without:

10. Febreze spray. I live with Sean, what can I say.

9. Nivea Moisturizing Toner.

8. Internet.

7. US Weekly.

6. Cosmedicine Mattifier.

5. Satellite TV. And Noggin, mostly.

4. BlackBerry.

3. Banana Boat Tan Extending Lotion.

2. Tropicana tanning oil. I do my best worshiping in the sun.

1. Scrubbing Bubbles.

Birthday and Baptism

My baby is 8. 8! I know I said that about Gretta being 6 months, but this is my baby baby. Emma is very special. She made me a mom. She completed the family we began when we got married. I never thought I'd have another baby after her. Guess I was wrong about that. Here is Emma with her birthday cake. She frosted it, and sprinkled it, and put the candles on it. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting, her favorite just like dad.
Sean baptized Emma today. He got a little emotional, and Emma felt the spirit very strongly. She was ready to get baptized, and knows how important it is. We are very proud of her.
Emma with her Troy and Gabriella dolls from High School Musical, her favorite movie. They sing. A LOT! But she loves them. She also got a necklace and dress for her baptism, Heely's, and a $20 gift card to Wal-Mart. She's all about the gift cards.

Reasons we love Emma:
10. She is very bright and fun.
9. She has a good sense of humor.
8. She makes friends very easily, and loves them all.
7. She loves her sisters so much.
6. She shares even when it's hard.
5. We hardly ever have to ask her twice.
4. She does the right things because she wants to.
3. She's very responsible.
2. She takes care of her things.
1. She is the love of our lives because she's just the way she is. Perfect!

One to talk

Yesterday we were walking through the mall and saw a boy in front of us with his pants on backwards. He had to be about 3 or 4. Sean made a funny remark about how his mom could let him leave that house that way.


We looked down and realized Maggie had on her bright pink shirt, a peach skort with yellow flowers on it, a ballet skirt under the skort, and ballet slippers.

What kind of mother would.....

I don't dare finish that sentence.

6 Months, a little late

Little "G" turned 6 months old on the 22nd.

6 months.

6 MONTHS!



I'm frightened to think that in less time than that it will be Christmas. But I can't let my fear of the Holidays detract from my joy of having a baby around.





Vital Stats:

13 pounds

26" long

Funny lookin' helmet.

Still freakin' cute.

Wait for the splash!

Meg and I headed up to Little Dell Reservoir on Saturday to do a little kayaking. Thanks to REI for the beat-to-hell rentals. They were sweet. We had no qualms about dragging them down the gravel hill to the water. As you can see, we got off to a rough start.


But we took a few pictures of ourselves in the parking lot, and headed down to the water. Thankfully we were the only ones there, or so we thought. Just as Meg tried to take off from shore, a fisherman walked by and asked if we needed help. I guess we just had that look about us. We told him no, and to just wait for the splash.

Actually we did quite well, considering it was the first time for both of us. I was surprised by the lack of stability at first, but got used to it soon enough. Meg even kicked back and tanned a little with her feet out.

Note for next time: Don't try to keep anything dry. I don't want to have to make a return trip to REI in just a swimsuit top again. I probably looked so lesbian driving my truck with my hat on and no shirt. Sexy.

Rock-a-Bye

Last night Gretta slept from 10:30 until 8:30 this morning! Yay.


And Meg and I played tennis last night for the first time in about 10 years. You'll all understand why I'm not doing any jumping or running today. Or sitting. Or bending.


On the schedule for tomorrow: KAYAKING!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for Jill, who has created "Thankful Thursday".

Jill is my big sis. The best big sis I have. When we were kids we fought like mad. We chased each other, we yelled, we even hit and bit occasionally. But now that we are grow ups (Chronologically, not mentally!), we get along much better. At least the biting has stopped. So here are things about Jill for which I am thankful:

• She let me stay at college with her. So cool.
  
• She was the first to date, so I didn't have to make up all the tricks.
• She had cool friends.
• She knew how to make our jeans into skirts.
  
• She gives us a reason to head to Vegas.
• And to go to Cheesecake Factory.
• She's very spiritual.
• She's the family "cruise director".
  

She is indeed a good friend and sister, and I love her!

August 4, 2007

• Who: EmmaLee Clayton

• What: Baptism

• Why: Because she knows to choose the right!

• Where: 8950 South 400 East. This is not the church by the Credit Union. It has been changed to the chapel NORTH of 9000 So.

• When: August 4, 2007. 10:30 AM Please arrive early.

• There will be a superfun party at our house afterward. Details to follow.

Things I saw a Wal-Mart today

• This goes out to all the WT out there.

The top 10 things I saw at Wal-Mart today that frightened, annoyed, or shocked me.

• 10. A very large man asking for a fresh double quarter pounder.

• 9. A bag of Wal-Mart brand "chicken parts". Complete with quotations.

• 8. The day-old cart. Empty. Gross.

• 7. An insulated mug in the shape of a beer keg. Sweet.

• 6. A rather large woman holding a rather small dog. Did I mention this was in the grocery store?

• 5. Several colorful buffet shirts. Although I'm pretty sure when you buy them in 5XL, they're called "smörgåsbord" shirts.

• 4. A man with one arm pushing a cart. Not really WT, but not something you see every day.

• 3. 2 empty pallets in the middle of the aisle. Probably from HP books.

• 2. An "it". Man? Woman? Both? Who knows!

And the #1 thing that frightened, shocked and annoyed me at Wal-Mart today was:

• 1. A 2, count them, 2 Jazzy Chair family! They really do need to invent the tandem.

Yellowstone, day 8

Saturday we left Canyon, and toured Old Faithful on our way out of the park. My niece, Madison, nephew Gabe, and Emma decided to do the "Young Scientist" project that would take them on a trek all around the Old Faithful geyser basin. They had to find out if geysers and hot springs were alive or not alive, follow a map to a mystery location, and then talk to a Ranger about what they learned. It's all very serious work. The Rangers do not take this lightly. They go through the booklet page by page, and make sure the kids fully understand what they have learned about. It's a nice way to teach them about the geology of such a unique place.

Here are Madison, Gabe, Maggie, and Emma in front of the sign for Old Faithful. This was the last day in the park, but certainly one of the funnest!

Madison and Emma showing off their "Young Scientist" booklets. They worked very hard for the key chain they received for completing it. Maggie and my littler nephew Eli also did a worksheet about animals they spotted while in the park, and received a "police badge", as Maggie likes to call it. So cute.