A Day at the Park

This past week Maggie suggested a picnic in the park with our friends. I had been needing some time with the girls so we put a shout out on Facebook. We didn't give a lot of notice so unfortunately there were a lot of fabulous ladies who couldn't make it. We still managed to have an amazing time. I love the girls in our ward. It was so nice to just hang out talking and laughing while the kids played. We had brought scooters so the kids could ride on a path the surrounded the park and we also brought a basketball. It didn't take long before the kids found a tree that was perfect for climbing. Who needs scooters or basketballs where there is a climbing tree? Rees' daughter was the first to make it to the very top. Of course it wasn't too much longer and Emma was on her way to the top. 

That is Emma way up in there.

They had cut off the top of the tree so she is literally at the very top sitting on a "stump". She has no fear.

Andrew stayed closer to the bottom. I'm glad I only have one dare devil.

Week 27 is Complete

This week that we are in right now is week 28. That means that we are at the half-way point of 2009. Can you believe it? I can't. I really really can't. We had a Bed Bath and Beyond catalog come in the mail yesterday and there is a bedding set that I *really* want for Andrew. Can you believe I considered getting it and putting it away for Christmas? Christmas. Wow. I can't believe how quickly time flies when you get older. It blows my mind.

Sookie Stackhouse Series Review for book 1&2

I have been hearing about this series on my favorite message board for a long time now. These are the books that HBO’s series True Blood is based off of. So yes, it’s a vampire series (FYI~She started these books way before Twilight) set in Louisiana. There are nine books written so far.

I resisted starting these books for a long time. I wasn’t really willing to jump on the bandwagon because of the characters name. I didn’t think I could read a book about someone named Sookie. There I said it.

Finally desperation set in. I really needed some new books to read. I had Paul look for Dead Until Dark (the first book) while he was at the library. It was checked out. I was talking to a friend and her eyes lit up while she was talking about these books. She loved them. After our conversation I got pretty excited when I found out the book became available right before we left for South Dakota.

It took a while for me to get into the book but once I did I fell hard. I loved it. In some parts it got HOT & STEAMY! Paul would have loved the book too if we hadn’t been sharing a hotel room with the kids, if you catch my drift ;) I couldn’t put it down after a while. I really enjoyed the characters and the way they interacted. It ended and I was very eager to start book two.

Living Dead in Dallas is the second book. I am not done yet, but close. I have had it a week. Does that tell you something? No? Well if I like a book it is usually devoured in less than two days. There is nothing wrong with this book but it is not a love story like the last one. (Keep in mind, we are talking about vampires here. It’s not really a romantic kind of love story but book number one did give me those first kiss flutters. You know the ones that seem to get rarer and rarer with each year of marriage.) This story is about a problem that needs to be solved. (Perhaps it could be called a mystery? Nah. I wouldn’t really call it that.) Now there’s nothing wrong with that but I thought it would consist of more…sex. You know, like the first one. I wanted more of the flutters.

I will finish this book and I will continue to read the series until at least book four. I hear that one is really good. From what I gather, in book four she gets involved with someone else, but I don’t know that for sure so that’s all I am going to say about that.

So if you like vampires and smut you may like book one. If you like to read series and don’t mind some sex and some swear words then you should try these books. I will keep you posted on how I feel after I finish book two.

All right, I finished book two. It got a little smuttier. Now that I have a better feel for what these books are about I think I will enjoy them more. Lisa gave me the rest of the series so I am good to go. This is way more sci-fi that I have ever read before but I am dealing with it better than I thought I would. I will give these two books two thumbs up even though they are not my preferred genre and they are a little raunchier than what I normally read. 

Paul is 35

Yesterday the best daddy and the greatest husband in the world turned 35. We celebrated with funfetti cupcakes with rainbow chip frosting and ice cream at his parent’s home. We were able to visit for a couple of hours while snacking on sweets. The cousins played inside and out and got to visit the neighbor’s train display. I didn’t even once think I should go over with my camera. (Smacks forehead!)  

Paul I hope you know how much we love you and what you mean to us. Happy Birthday Honey. 

Right before we left grandma gave all the big kids a Klondike bar to eat outside. Grandma Nancy and John came out to join in on the fun. Andrew shared a piece of chocolate with John. It didn't take long for him to figure out that he wanted more that just ice cream. Can you blame him? 

Our Fourth of July Weekend

Friday Paul was able to stay home from work since the holiday fell on a Saturday. We kicked it around the house until pretty late in the afternoon so I could finish my quilt!

After lunch at Taco Amigo we started gathering up stuff for our weekend in Provo. We checked into the Residence Inn

and then went to dinner at TGIFridays. After dinner we went to the creamery and got heartbroken because they *still* don't have good flavors of ice cream! Oh they let us down. It was better for my butt though.

While we were driving back to our hotel when we noticed a bunch of service people carrying what looked like a gigantic flag.

There were also two cranes. We knew what was going to happen and there was a modest crowd gathered so we joined. We had to wait a while but finally they lifted the giant flag up on the cranes. It took 24 people to carry the flag. We later found out that it was 90x150 feet! It was monstrous and beautiful.

I took my pictures and then we were done.

When we got back to the hotel we spent a little time in the pool and hot tube before going to bed. We knew we had an early morning ahead of us so we encouraged the kids to fall asleep as fast as they could. It didn't work. Oh they were beasts. I wanted to hurt someone. Neither one of them wanted to share the sofa bed. Emma was whining because Andrew was breathing too loud and then he was stealing the blankets. They bitched and moaned for over an hour!!! An hour. A whole freaking hour. Did I mention that they complained for an hour?

Finally Emma got off the bed and slept on the couch cushion on the ground. Since we had decided to go to the Balloon Fest I set the alarm but apparently my internal alarm had doubts that it would work. I’m running about 20 minutes fast. I got at 5:25 AM and lost out on the last precious 20 minutes that I could have had.

We got to the balloon fest before sunrise. The sky was gorgeous with pink streaks and the weather was perfect. It was nice and cool.

We watched the balloons slowly blow up one by one and then they took off.

We all had our favorites. This is mine. I just love the autumn leaves and the dangly thingies.

Here are some more shots.

We also noticed some balloons missing from previous years like the strawberry and one with a bunch of flowers on it.

After we were done we got Einstein Bagels (I guess it is now a tradition since we have gotten them after the Balloon Fest both times we have gone.) and then went to the hotel and took advantage of their free buffet breakfast.

Paul and I wanted a nap and we knew the kids *needed* a nap. We had a choice; go home and let the kids sleep in their own beds (keep in mind there are also a lot of activities at our house to keep them busy if they don’t sleep thus assuring that Paul and I get our naps) or stay at the hotel, the scene of an hours worth of sleep drama and try to take a nap there. Guess what we chose ;) We got a nice nap and after getting cleaned up headed back to Provo for the Stadium of Fire. We walked down and got our seats and waited impatiently for the festivities to begin.

We saw the jets,

we sang the national anthem, we said the Pledge of Allegiance to the same flag we had watched the cranes raise the night before, we watched the dancers, we sat through SHeDAISY and then hormones started running amok. The Jonas Brothers hit the stage.

The place went nuts. The kids lost it. Emma was so excited. She was jumping up and down and screaming. Andrew got into it too.

We couldn’t see them very well but we watched them on the big screens.

They put on a great show and really got the audience going. The kids weren't the only ones who were excited about seeing the Jonas Brothers.

I have a whole new appreciation for those boys. They were awesome. They played at least six songs. My favorite part of the night was watching the kids at their first concert watching someone they love perform. It was so cute.

After the concert was over the fireworks started. They went for a while and then there was even what seemed like the grand finale. I thought it seemed somewhat brief compared to years past but rain was coming, we had felt the drops, so I figure they had rushed through them. I was wrong. They just stopped them for a special ceremony.

That big beautiful flag that we had admired the night before was no longer in good enough condition to be used. A lady here in Utah had sewn it with her ward; it had been used at BYU football games, during the Olympics and other Stadiums of Fire. She had repaired it over and over again and referred to it as her baby. Much to my horror they decided to burn it at last night. I watched with a tear in my eye as they carried it in and loaded into a large drum and before I knew it, it was gone.

The lower flame is where the drum that they loaded the flag into.

I know that is what is supposed to be done but I have to say I didn’t like it. If I were the one who had made it and worked so hard to keep it beautiful over the years I would have wanted to keep it, somehow, no matter what its condition was.

After the ceremony was over the fireworks began again and we were treated to round two and they were awesome! I will tell you that that is the way to see the fireworks. We all hope to have a chance to do it again sometime. The only downer is that I couldn’t have my tri-pod and thus no really good pictures.

We walked back to the hotel, put Andrew on the floor and fell asleep. We slept until 10:30. We started loading up and headed home where I made a big breakfast for everyone and started working on Paul’s birthday cupcakes and dinner. More on his birthday later.

Another Week Bites the Dust

And I'm tired.

My week started with me determined to take it easy. I was tired from the trip to South Dakota. I was also relieved that I had taught my lesson in Relief Society. I didn't have anything on my plate, except laundry. I felt like I deserved a break so I took one. I did some laundry but not much else. I sewed a little. While doing things throughout the day I noticed that my left underarm was really sore. I figured I had pulled a muscle. 

Tuesday I had planned on more relaxing but instead got more arm pain. It was really bothering me. I just had to figure it was some kind of injury, I am pretty clumsy, but the pain had started to go down from my armpit to my elbow. It hurt the whole way. Late Tuesday evening I my hand started to go numb. It freaked me out so I drove to urgent care. I had a faint red line exactly where the pain was, indicating an infection but no other signs like a fever. I was prescribed antibiotics, told that if the numbness got worse to see a different doctor and then I was sent on my way. It is so frustrating to be in a lot of pain, to know something is really wrong and not have anyone know what is causing it. 

Wednesday I woke up with more pain. It was moving toward my wrist. The line was still there and there was redness near my elbow. I was really worried. If it was an infection in my blood it might go to my heart. Who knew? The doctors didn't. I filled my prescription and went about my day the best I could. The kids had a craft camp at Robert's making T-shirts and we did a couple of other things. 

Late Wednesday I asked Paul for a blessing. We tried to call our neighbor Cameron. When we called him they weren't home. I was really worried but it was late and I didn't want to bug anyone. I tried to just let it go but I wasn't doing a very good job. When the phone rang at 10:30 pm and I heard Cameron's voice I broke down. I felt such relief and gratitude that he chose to return our call even though it was late.  He came right over and helped Paul give me a blessing. 

Thursday my arm seemed to start getting better and I was very thankful. The red line has turned into a bruise. It is hard to see in the picture but it runs about 5-6 inches. I still have some sore spots but it's better.

Sorry about the nasty armpit picture. I haven't been shaving it since it was so sore. Eeew!

It is amazing how much a right-handed person relies on their left arm!  I was still sore and was still taking it easy. The kids went to movie day at Jenna's and then later that evening I went out for a while. I knew I should take my camera, but I didn't and I missed a rainbow. Bugger!

Friday we got ready for our stay-cation in Provo for the Stadium of Fire. More details on our holiday weekend coming later. 

I think too much

This past February "my quilt store" was having a birthday sale. It was a good sale. Everything was at least 20% off. I found a Halloween/Fall kit that included the backing for 50%! (Or so I thought. Scowl.) Well they rang it up as all separate pieces, or something weird like that and it ended up being a lot more that I thought it would. At that point I had already fallen in love and wasn't about to give it up so I paid and in my closet it has sat.

Knowing that I get bored of projects easily I thought that maybe I better start it now if I wanted to have it done in time to display this year. (It would give me time to quit and start again LOL!) The store always includes a seriously crappy picture of what the finished quilt should look like. This is basically the same pattern just so you know ;)

In their terrible picture I can't make heads or tails of what prints are paired together. It is so fuzzy and distant. It is a real joke. (Do you think if I volunteered to take pictures for them and only asked for an employee discount, not a salary, they would go for it? )

I went ahead and just did my own thing. The problem? I can't throw caution to the wind. I can't mix without matching. There had to be something that coordinated the two fabrics, even if it was only in my mind.

After I was done I looked at their picture again. Even though I couldn't tell what was what I could tell that colors had been paired that I never would have imagined pairing. However theirs looks cute, crazy and scrappy. Mine looks planned and contrived. I don't know how to avoid this. Half of my wants to leave it because it will work in my head. The other half wants to just have Emma and Andrew pair them up. I will sit back and say come what may and just go with it. (Let's be honest. That could never happen.)

This has been in my living room floor for days now.

I walk by, look at it and then don't know what to do. I even tried asking Paul. That was helpful. NOT! I need to stop thinking so much. I see these crazy combinations and think "Oh, I love that" but then realize that I never could have put them together. Ahhh! I wish that part of my brain had a shutoff switch.

Week 26 Part Two is finished

I changed the dotted border to red on the first page also but didn't feel like posting it again.

Angelee, you asked how I do my pages. I make them in Photoshop CS4 for Mac. I have been using Photoshop for Digi-scrapping since 2005. We had been to Disneyland for the 50th anniversary and I wanted a photo Christmas card that included more than one picture. It got the desired response too. People were asking where and how we had made our card!

(Here it is. The card that started it all. I don't think there is one drop shadow on there. That just proves how little I knew LOL! )

Paul helped me since he knew a little about the program and the obsession took off from there. I started with PS CS but lost that program when we got a virus at the end of last year. CS 4 has some quirks that I am still getting used to  but I love being able to create scrapbook pages without the mess. I still have a lot of supplies that I use for card making but I can't remember the last time I made a scrapbook page with paper.