Baby Brother

I have always wanted to do a post on my little brother Jay. He is serving an LDS mission in Montevideo, Uruguay. He comes home this November and I am so excited to see him. He is doing such a great job as a missionary there. I read his letters every week and laugh, cry, or whatever. He tells good stories. He is a great influence on the people he is serving. He is awesome!
I'm the oldest of 6 kids. 3 girls, 3 boys. Jay was the last one to come 6 years after my sister, Melinda.
He was still a Senior in High School when my Dad passed away. I worried that he would be messed up.
You know, sometimes kids go off the deep end when they lose a parent or loved one. I know many that have. Not Jay. He is so strong and I'm so proud of him. I miss him. However, when he gets back, he will be coming up to Utah to go to BYU. I can't wait!
Here are some cute pics he sent with his last letter.

Jay with a goat or something.

Jay with one of his companions. Jay is the taller one.

I think this is Jay with a previous comp. who got injured pretty bad when doing a service project.

Watcher in the Woods or City or Wherever.....

If you haven't seen this, you might get a kick out of it. Jake and I had a good and hearty laugh. It is true that Google is huge. I thought this was cleverly done. I love it when things are made fun of, unless it is to be cruel, of course. This is the funniest of the segments.( there are 4) Hopefully, you are familiar with GoogleMaps.

The ABC's of Me.

WOW! I'm on a blogging spree lately.
Here are some facts about me done in a different way.
A is for Age: 33
B is for Burger of choice: In-n-Out
C is for the Car I drive: Blue Mazda MPV
D is for your Dog's name: Don't have one, probably never will.
E is for Essential item you use everyday: Arbonne chapstick. (I hate dry lips!)
F is for Favorite TV show at the moment: Olympics right at this moment, but I can't wait for the Office and LOST to come back.
G is for favorite Game: Nertz (spell check please?)
H is for Home state: I will always say California, although I have lived in Utah for 12 years now.
I is for Instruments you play: I used to play piano and violin.
J is for favorite Juice: Ruby Red Grapefruit
K is for whose bum you would like to Kick: this is random, nobody at the moment. Sometimes, my kids, but in a loving way:)
L is for Last restaraunt you ate at: Red Robin
M is for your favorite Muppet: who made these question's up? I guess Grover. He is super.
N is for Number of piercing's at one time: Haha! 4 total in my ears.
O is for Overnight hospital stays: 3, One for each baby.
P is for People you were with today: Just my kids and hubby, so 4.
Q is for what you do with your Quiet time: blog, surf internet, watch olympics lately, and today I will go read my Camera manual. (I have a lot to learn)
R is for biggest Regret: I wish I hadn't been mad at my Dad over the phone at our last conversation before he died. Okay, I know this one is really serious but true. I don't beat myself up about it though. He knows I loved him so much.
S is for Status: Happily Married
T is for the Time you woke up today: I wake up many times during the night, but officially got out of bed to start my day at 8:36am.
U is for what's Unique about you: I have a large oval-shaped birth mark under my right arm.
V is for a Vegetable you love: Cucumbers in vinegar......mmmmmmmm.
W is for Worst habit: Sometimes I bite my nails.
X is for X-Rays you have had: Not too many, but can't remember exactly. Last one was a few weeks ago at a Chiropractor's office.
Y is for Yummy food you have eaten today: Cereal and fruit for breakfast, haven't had lunch yet. Z is for Zodiac sign: Scorpio

Okay, is that more than what you wanted to know about me?
I tag everyone who would like to waste time like I just did doing this. Hahahaha!

A FoRcE tO bE REckoNeD WiTh

My mind has been blown! I have had so much fun watching the machine of a man, Michael Phelps, win 8 gold medals. It is crazy to me how well he swims.

I love the Olympics! I love the feeling of proudness I get being a part of this great country we live in. Summer Olympics is my favorite! I love almost every event that happens in Summer Olympics. I hate that Nastia got silver on uneven bars. Obviously, should have been gold. We will probably find out that the Chinese girl who won is only 14 too. She is good but had many more mistakes.

I could go on and on about that.

Phelps is crazy fast and has brought my blood pressure way up many times this past week watching him swim. He is a fish. I'll bet if we looked harder, we would see gills on his sides:)

Go USA!

I'm awaiting the Final's for Kerri Walsh and Misty May-T.

Okay, I just had to post about it all! I'm done.

I hope you are all watching!!!

Binky No More!

Well, she did it! Breck has survived the "taking away of the binky"! I initially did it as an experiment. She asked for "my binky", as she does almost all day long. I got one off the kitchen counter and cut the rubber part that goes in her mouth. I just took about a couple of centimeters off. She happily put it in her mouth and I watched. She kept playing with it with her tongue but had a strange look on her face. After about 15 seconds, she took it out and stared at it. Then she handed it to me. I said, "Should we put it in the trash?" She said yes. After a minute or two, she wanted it again. I handed her the same one(washed off, of course). She would say, "NO!" and swat it away. This lasted a few days of giving her the same "broken" one and now she is my big girl! It has been a couple of weeks now. We had a minor set back when Jake let her get on the kitchen counter to get a cup out of the cupboard and she found the binky stash that I forgot to throw away. I looked up and it was happily in her mouth. OH NO! I took it quickly out and took them straight to the outside trash. She was upset for about a minute but then we distracted her.

I'm so glad it's gone! The only thing that makes me sad is that this means she is growing up. :(

Before, yes, it was a big problem! Haha.

After. I love that we can see her pretty little lips and smile more often now. :)

Good Practice.

Well, today I went with a good friend to take some pictures of her kiddos. They are super darling children, but wow, it is hard to get those little people to stand still together. Whoever specializes in children must be very patient and creative. I don't know if I'm there at all.

Here are a few of what I got today. I don't have a lens that lets me get too far away yet. I had to be pretty close to get a good shot.

Here are some of my favorites:

Little Bode was waiting for his Mom to come out of this church so I got a cute relection shot.

Bode, Lucas, and Alanna.
Cute and happy kids.
Lucas has electric blue eyes. Adorable!

Love it.

~~~~~~~~H2O~~~~~~~~~

I started the Master's Swim Team last week at the Rec. Center near by. I was a little nervous to go. The first night I had butterflies on the way there. Oh man, I thought I'd be way out of my league or that it would be way too much for me.

Well, I absolutely love it! I have always loved to swim but never swam competitively growing up. I swam, I was a lifeguard for about 7 years or so but that was it. I know the strokes pretty well but never swam for exercise.

I love it! It kicks my butt too! It is a great workout and I'm excited to get into shape this way. The coaches I've met so far are great. Today we focused only on the details of the back stroke. It was cool. This is the stroke where you get the most water up your nose. I got plenty. If for some reason I'm sitting around and "drippage"(don't think it's a word) occurs from my nose, this is why.

If anyone is into swimming and wants to do it for exercise, let me know. I would love to go with people. I go Tuesday(night), Thursday(night), and Saturday mornings so far. It is $35/month for non-members of the rec. center. I think you just pay as you go each month. I started with one to see if I liked it. I hope to keep going and improve my technique and move up to the "fast lane".
(Not me in the picture. I just liked it.)

July Funtime

I need to figure out how to do a slide show so you don't have to scroll down to see a bunch of pics. Mabye next time:)

This year for the 24th of July(but on the 23rd), we went to the Bountiful City parade. If you haven't done this yet, do it next year. You do, however, have to show up to Main St. at a very early time that morning to lay down your blankets or chairs to save your spot or you might not get one. Our friends were kind enough to get up and do it for us! It is a great little parade. Almost every float or group of people going by throw candy at the kids. They, of course, loved this. They would run out into the road and collect and keep a pile. It is almost like Halloween, sort of. Okay, not Halloween, but enough candy for the evening. Jake wanted to try to get a picture with random mascots that went by. He started this halfway through the parade so he only got a couple. It was fun to get him to run out and pose with them though. Later that night was the fireworks show at Mueller Park Jr. High. We went to our friends house near there and got a fantastic view of the show. I love fireworks!

We had some good friends come into town for a week and we got to see them a couple of times. They are in Med. school and are in between sessions so they came to Utah(they are both from Bountiful/Woods Cross) to see family and friends. Since they are locals, they took us to a really fun park up in the hills of Bountiful. North Canyon Park. We will be going there frequently. As a family, our favorite thing to do on Sunday nights is go to parks and hang out when it's cooler weather. Anyone want to go? :0)

It was a fun week that ended with fireworks and my sister Melinda coming to visit. I don't have any more visitors coming for a while now.......boohoo!



Our good friends, Craig and Janalyn.
The boys!! Rockwell, Gavin, Jonah, and Noah.
Me and Janalyn at the parade.
Jake and random "gumby cookie" as I called it.
Everybody loves the Frosty!

24th Fireworks show!!
24th! I think these turned out pretty cool with the new camera.

My youngest sister, Melinda.

Me and the Babe.

COME BACK MOM!!

It is always fun to have my Mom come visit us here in Utah. She is so busy at home. When we go visit her she is always on her way out the door to work or school or a rehearsal or something. I'm glad she is busy, but it is too busy sometimes. When she comes to Utah she can't leave for work or school or rehearsals. hahahaha (my evil laugh). I love that we have her full undivided attention.(sorry Robyn and Melinda) It's not her fault she is so busy though. I love her and I'm glad she came up to spend time with us and her grandchildren. It is always fun to have her here. Whilst she was here, we went swimming, shopping, on a pretty drive, and to temple square. We had a nice time.

I love you Mom.

"They" say I'm a Spoon.

Well, I always laugh when I or people say, "They say......." Do you know what I mean? For example: "They say that if you shave your head or chest hair(men, of course) or between your eyebrows, it will grow back thicker." or "They say that if you swallow chewing gum takes 7 years to get through our digestive system." or "They say that everbody has a twin somewhere in the world." or "They say the average person swallows 8 spider's per year." What the....!!! No we don't!!! How would they even know that? Who are they?
Well, I took another quiz. What type of Utensil am I? Excuse me? Utensil? What is next?
Any good "they say" comments that you have heard?

You Are a Spoon

You are a well rounded, balanced person. You are friendly and welcoming. You get along with everyone. You are easy going and laid back. You don't have any hang ups. Non judgmental and accepting, you are a comfort to people around you.

What Utensil Are You?

Bragging and Birthdays!!

Okay. I realized I had missed a few important things that have happened in June and July.


First, Jake ran the Wasatch Back which is a relay race from Logan to Park City, Ut. It was hard, he got sore, and still has two dead toenails from it. :) I'm so proud of him for running it and I wanted to brag about it for him! There were quite a few people in our ward that ran it too. We were thinking maybe a couple's team for next year and I will do it. Crazy, huh? It is.


We'll see. I'm not promising anything right now.

That is the Ragnar Relay Motto! It is 100% true.
Jake with a few of his teammates. There were 12 total.

Also, Jake had a birthday. He is now my age. Haha. I'm 8 months older than him. I know, I know, it's sick! I totally robbed the cradle.






Last but not least, today is Gavin's 6th birthday. Happy Birthday! It has been a fun day. We took Gavin and a few of his friends to see "Horton Hears a Who!" I loved it! It was just the right amount of funny and cute. It's at the dollar theatre if anyone wonders.

6 already?!!!

The Birthday Gang. Jonah, Alanna, Gavin, Marshal, Match, and Collette.

Little by Little with Fireworks.

Well, I'm excited to learn how to take pics with the new camera. I have been experimenting with Jonah, who enjoys being my model. Heehee. He is pretty cute.

I figured out how to take picture's of fireworks, thanks to Jenny Gibson. When it came to the 4th and the fireworks show, I completely lost it. I didn't realize what I was doing wrong until the last two firework booms! I was a little frustrated, to say the least. Atleast I have the 24th to try again.

We went camping with Jake's brothers family for the 4th of July. It was fun. It was at some place called Temple Hill Resort in Manti. Let's just say, I looked at the nice photos of the place online and when we drove up to it we were thinking, "huh?" It was pretty run down and the pool was a flourescent green and had way too much chlorine in it. Way too much. Oh also, if you wanted to sit on the side and put your feet in, you would feel an electric shock. Who knows what was wrong with the pool? It was enough for us to say to our kids, "GET OUT!"

We had fun setting up tents, eating dinner, and being eaten alive by the mosquitos(yes, we had repellant on, didn't work at all, that is another post for later).

I think camping away from people would be better, except I would still like a bathroom down the way to use. Sorry, no squatting for me.

There was, however, a beautiful view of the temple from our campground. It is a gorgeous temple, if you haven't seen it. All in all, it was a fun 4th!

Jonah, pondering life. :)

Jonah, with blurry background.

Gavin is in focus here with everything else blurry.

This is what you see when you drive up to the campground where we stayed. Yes folks, that is Yogi Bear.

My brother-in-law, Josh and his wife Corenne and a couple of their kiddos.

Tent set up is always fun in 98 degree weather.

Gorgeous Manti Temple.

Here are my not-so-fabulous fireworks pics.

And again.

I had some fun after the show with the cars driving by. This was the trick for the fireworks I figured out afterwards.
Manti Temple at night. Love this temple.

Boo is TWO!

I can't believe my baby is two today! She has been such a good baby and is no longer one anymore. Toddler is her official title now.

I just wanted to post a picture of her and one with one of her birthday gifts. Yes, girl's are different. Everything pink and princessy. I know that isn't a word.

I feel the "wonderful two's"(called something else) is coming around the corner. She threw a humongous tantrum last weekend that lasted about an hour. Wow!

I love her so much!! :) She is a cutie and brightens up our days.

Happy Birthday Breck-A-Boo!!

The next Ansel Adams? Nope, the next Dana Willis!

I have always had an interest in photography. Lately, (atleast the past few years) I have said that I wanted to take classes and learn more about it.
Jake and I had our 10 year anniversary last Friday. Jake is very good at making mental notes and keeping them in his head. I am good at making mental notes but then they leave soon after.
Well, for my anniversary present he got me a new camera and had me go to a little class that is offered at a place called Pictureline. Needless to say, it mostly went over my head as I don't know much about White Balancing and such. (I hadn't even turned my new camera on yet.)
I am ready to experiment and read more about my camera and about how to take cool photos with it. If anyone knows much and is willing to take me under their wing..............I would love it.
My camera is a "starter" Canon Rebel XTi 400D. All I know is that most of the people in the class I went to have it and love it.
Thanks for being so thoughtful Jake. He is a big supporter in the "if you have a passion, do it" theory. I'm glad. I love you! Happy Tenth!

My Most Favourite Group In The World

Okay. I want to post about Jamiroquai. So many do not know who they are because they are not huge in the USA. I don't hear them on the radio. Last year, I heard one song on some station (maybe 107.9?) and I called them to let them know that I appreciated that they were playing Jamiroquai and said that eveyone should be playing them. (I'm sure the V.J. thought I was strange.)

Well, Jamiroquai has been around for a while. Their style is like a funky, disco, jazzy sort of music. Great musicians. My friend Brandi introduced them to me one night in San Clemente, CA. while driving in her Celica (cool sports car back then). It made the drive so enjoyable and I asked,"Who is this group?"

You may know them from the "Napoleon Dynamite" dance song at the end. They also have songs in the movies "Center Stage", "Devil Wears Prada", "Sweetest Thing" and more. I have every album so far(minus some imported stuff) and love them all.

This is the music you listen to when working out, cleaning house, driving and you want it loud, dancing, etc.... You cannot listen and not start moving!

**Go listen to some tunes and you will have found a new love**

I like all kinds of music (except Country, haven't been able to get into that) but Jamiroquai still remains my favourite(spelled like the British would spell it)!

It might help also, that the lead singer Jason Kay (Jay Kay) is a cutie (a not so close second to Jake).

Take a lookie below. He is funky and has style in my opinion. Oh, somewhere there are photos of a Hugo Boss photo shoot. I'm not the only one who thinks he has style. :)

Now, go find it and listen!

The Purchase.

Well, we found the new member of our family. We haven't named it yet, any suggestions are welcome.

We bought it on Friday night May 30th. We got a really good deal. I'm loving that our monthly payment is only $120 too. Haha!

Don't worry, we didn't fall for the "how much do you want your monthly payment to be?" ridiculous question.

I'm glad Jake has a reliable car to drive to work. Okay, maybe I'm a little happy that I don't have to take him and pick him up everyday too.

Here are the first photos of the car:

Hyundai Elantra '04





PS- The major oil stains on the driveway are not from this car. They are the remnants of Geo. (sniffle, sniffle)

Our little family will be growing soon.

We are trying to find a little car to add to our family! (were you thinking I was pregnant? Nope!)
We sold the Geo. It was a very sad day! Really, I came in the house and bawled after they drove off in it. It needed some repairs in order to get it registered and it would have been around $650 which is more than the car is worth. Geo went to a cute, humble 16 year old boy who was ecstatic to have it! (many have said, "Someone paid money for that car?")
Yes, it still drives!! I told the boy(while gazing off in a different direction, remembering) I was also 16 when I got the Geo. I think he thought I was strange. I also hugged the door as I got out of it. Hahahaha! Okay, I am strange. Su Lo, I know you can relate with your "Buck the Truck" when you sold it!
Anyway, I bawled because of the many memories I had with that little car(see past post about Geo) and also my Dad bought it for me and he passed away just four years ago. I felt like it was another little piece of my Dad going away. Well, I'm sentimental.
Anyway, we have been trying to find a reliable car for Jake to drive around. We were looking at Toyota's and Honda's, but with our budget the miles are too high on the one's were looking at.
So, we decided to start looking at Hyundai's. We used to have a Santa Fe which I loved!
We are looking at Elantra's and Sonata's now.
I'll let you know what we ultimately find. Until then.................

My week of niceness.

It has been so nice having Jake home for a week. I got to go to California all by myself, for a few days. Yep, no kids:) I got to see my Mom and spend some time with her. I saw my sister Robyn, who had a little girl just two weeks old. I got to spend the night at my other sisters, Melinda, and we went shopping, saw a movie, ate at the Soup Plantation. It was nice to be there. When I got back, Jake spent a day cleaning and organizing our garage. It looks fantastic now! We organized things around the house, and bought and put together a dresser from IKEA. We have desperately been needing more space to put our clothes. We have been staying up late watching TV, going to lunch during the day with only Breck. It has been a treat.
Tomorrow he starts his new job. I'm excited and hope he will love it!
I am excited to get our first paycheck too, as we had a whole week off without pay! HAHAHAHA! IT HURTS!

Me and Taylor. (She kept making faces)

Me and baby Jenna. So sweet and sqeaky!

Melinda, my sister, looking pretty.

Dave and Robyn and their new little girl. (their 2nd child)