Weekend Guests, Family Reunion & Babies

Wow, this has taken over a week to post! Work has been crazy busy and then we went out of town for the 4th of July weekend. Busy, busy, busy!

We had these two lovely ladies spend a few days with us. They are so fun and ever so cute. I miss them already. Jamie (on the right) is hubby's granddaughter and came down for some CAD training with her roommate Bethany (on the left) who came to keep her company. This picture was their last morning just before they headed off to Lagoon. Hopefully, they will return soon for another visit.

Then off we went to the Jones Family Reunion in Clarkston. The first thing we did when we arrived was to give my mom her Mother's Day gift. (and yes, I know I am late...but it was so worth it.) I ordered a piggy bank from Lynn. Here is my Mom's smiling face when she opened her cute little piggy. We even put some money in to start her out right.

Alex grabbed his skateboard out of the trunk and ran off with his cousins. I took this picture of Tal...I love his hair, it was flying up on one side and he was loving life and didn't care about his hair. He is such a cute kid.

Here the little kids are trying to hit the pinata. Poor Spounge Bob. I think everyone secretly wants to smack him up side the head.

We played a little bingo and had a silent auction.

My little sister Jill did a great job of planning this and actually making people interact. Here she is with her husband Scott and son Cody calling out bingo numbers

We also had two new babies born this week and I didn't get any pictures to post. Our first little addition is Paxton James and you can see him on Emily's blog. He weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and was 20 inches long. Next we welcomed Emelia Marie who weighed in at 10 lb 4 oz and was also about 20 inches. Emelia is having a few complications right now and has been in NICU. She is out of ICU and in her own room but still in the hospital. I am sure she could use a few more prayers. As soon as we get new pictures we will post them too.

Frontier Days

Our little family outing on Friday was a fun filled event. We stopped by my brother Jack's house for a hot dog roast and then traveled onto the carnival.

Here is where I my I left (lost) my loving spouse.

He saw this horse pull going on and dumped the Ole Grey Mare for a bunch of testosterone filled giant stallions. (they weren't stallions, but anything else would not have the same meaning!) He stayed here almost all night. He did take a break to buy me a churro and I must say I was unimpressed. Maybe I need a churro from Costco, they are supposed to be the best, or so I've heard.

So, Jack, his wife Kristin and I drug the kids to the carnival. I got the two teenagers and the four little kids went with Jack and Kristin. I stood and watch as Alex and Tal went on the scary rides. Here they are on the Zipper and screaming like little girls. OK, I added that, but I so wish they would have. That would have made my night.

Here is evidence of my churro tasting. The problem was I had built it up to great proportions in my head and was severely disappointed at the first bite. I shared it with all the little kids who were like ravenous wolves. We had just eaten, what was wrong with them. Luckily I came out of it with all ten fingers. Little demons! (Not really, but I love the visual of them as demons.)

Here is another picture of Alex and Tal and I really want to know what the big deal is with these tight girl pants on boys. Alex just became obsessed with these and I broke down and bought him some for his birthday...and told him they were girl pants. Now he is warped for life. More Mom guilt!

Anyway, we did have a really good time, and we stopped back by the horse pull and watched those massive animals pulling 10,350 pounds and I get winded carrying a 10 lb bag of potatoes. Such a WHIMP!

Here is one last picture of Jack and Kristin with their kids. They are missing Jonathan the oldest who was at work. Such a cute bunch.

Parachuting Without A Net

Since I started Blog Stalking I have stumbled upon some truly inspirational blogs. People who have so many more trials than I could ever imagine. One of those people is Kim over at Parachuting Without A Net. Kim has been through the roughest of times. She lost her two teenage daughters, Jessica and Kelli, in a horrible traffic accident last November.

A fundraiser is going to be held on July 13th. The money raised will go to a scholarship fund at Jessica's college and to a Cheerleader fund at Kelli's Middle School in the girls memories.

Kim has been such an inspiration to me and I think this is such a great way to remember her daughters.

Go on over a take a look and if you too are inspired you can send a donation to the address listed.

Tagged

Adiel tagged me with this little informative meme survey. I know you are all waiting with baited breath to hear my amazing secrets. Sorry to disappoint, but isn't that what a blog is for?

Here are the meme rules:* Post rules at the beginning of the post.* Answer all the questions.* Tag 6 people, and go to their blog and leave a comment to inform them that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.* Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Getting right to the questions —

What were you doing ten years ago?
1998 was a really bad year for me. I am pretty sure no one wants the boring details but in a nutshell....I was at the beginning of the end of my first marriage and weighed a whopping 98 pounds. (hate the divorce, love the divorce diet) I didn't have any teenagers...wow. My kids were 12, 7 and 4. I was working for a software company and trying hard to survive.

What are five things on your to-do list today?
1 - Go to Frontier Days and ride all the scary rides and eat cotton candy and try a churro for the first time. (Come on Jack it will be fun! And you can say Whatever all night and we will still like you!)
2 - Buy some Nerds for church on Sunday.
3 - Call Amy about a Pavilion.
4 - BLOG STALK!

Snacks you enjoy? Apples, Lays Regular Potato Chips, Chocolate. Actually, just about anything put in front of me.

Places you’ve lived?
Munich, Germany
Lacey, Washington
Salt Lake City, Sandy, Draper and South Jordan, Utah.

What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1 - Pay off debt for all my family members. (the ones I like anyway) and donate a bunch.
2 - Travel to Scotland and Germany
3 - Save some for Retirement.
4 - Buy a big old van so my mother, sisters, sister in law, mom's cousin and nieces can ride in one car for our annual Christmas shopping day. That's a lot of estrogen in one vehicle.
5 - Buy all my blogging friends a tank of gas. (oops, money's gone for sure now)

People you want to know more about? I almost feel like I know way too much about all my blogging friends already. I am quite noisy by nature, that is why blogging is so addictive. I feel like J. Edgar Hoover a bit.

OK, I tag (and I am so very sorry if you have already been tagged) Heather in AZ, Natalie, Julie (to take her mind off having triplets) and Liz. Sorry, I can only inflict this on these four.

Well Do Ya? Do Ya? Do Ya Wanna?

When I started this blog (last week) I swore I would not make multiple daily entries...but today I am breaking the rule for the first, and I am sure not the last, time.

Adiel was dancing around the office singing and I just had to share it with you all!

Domestic Goddess

In recent years I had gone to camp with the girls at church nine times. That was before I got married and moved. I never went when I was a teenager so now as an "adult" I think I was trying to make up for lost time. A lot of people say they couldn't imagine anything worse then going up into the mountains to sleep in tents, use outhouses, fight off killer raccoons and deal with PMSing teenage girls. I love it! It's probably because my maturity level is equal with all those cute girls. I really miss going to Girls Camp. I miss the yummy fattening food, the million mile hikes, the broken water and sewer lines, the 100 degree temperatures sitting on top of Payson Canyon, I miss the singing and the sharing and I miss the Secret Sister Gifts! I just miss everything about it.

So, because I have missed camp so very much I volunteered to make pajama bottoms for this years girls camp in our new area. I don't know any of these girls or many of their mothers but because I am selfish, and want to be involved any way I can, I signed up.

Here is the result of my efforts. I made six pairs. The fabric was so very cute and so soft and squishy. Just as a side note, I am not the crafty one in my family. My older sister Marrla (much older...and really 20 months is much older, just ask me), got blessed with the crafty genes. They skipped right on by me. But I got them all finished and a day short of the deadline. As Adiel says, I Rock!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Today is my youngest child's birthday. He is 14 years old and is such a good kid. He loves to ride BMX and actually won a trophy of which is is very proud. He also plays the trumpet in the school band and is excited to get to High School so he can be in the marching band. He is a great son and I am so very lucky to have him! (And sometimes he smiles, he really does...he just doesn't like the way he looks when he does.) Even without a smile he is a handsome fellow!

We stopped by a craft store last night to see if there was something amazing he wanted for his b day, and he wanted some rubber letters so he could put them on his chest and spell his name while getting a suntan. Now that is a little bit weird but at least I know where he is most of the time and he hasn't gotten into any really big trouble. (Except those pesty grades! Evil Algebra.)

This is the boy who hugs me all the time and tells me how pretty I am (did I mention he was a bit delusional?) he still goes to church with me without protest, and he even gives me foot massages! This child is a saint. He was worth the labor, the C-section, the nursing and all the other childhood traumas. I love you Alex! You are the best.

I Am Not A Freak

Saturday my cute little husband decided that we shouldn’t cook dinner. (YEAH) We headed over to the local grocery store’s deli and decided we would get one of their dinner specials. Our choice would be roast turkey with a salad, roll and one side dish. The young man helping us gently put three pieces of the lovely roasted turkey on a platter. Lined them up all pretty and symmetrical. (Just as I would have) He then added our salad choice, macaroni salad. He gently put his spoon into the salad and carefully lifted it to the platter and plopped it down so that it was TOUCHING the turkey. Now, I need to state one more time, I Am Not A Freak, but, if you make the food I am about to eat touch each other, I become a bit put out. I tried to stay calm but my hubby knew that inside I was not handling this well. Then the deli clerk added the side right next to the salad and OH YUCK, they all ran in together. Then he added a roll and yes indeedy, put it on top of all that touching food. There are some foods I don’t mind if they touch, like Thanksgiving Dinner and Mexican food, but all other food has it’s place and should stay in that place. And please do not tell me it all winds up in my stomach together or I may just not eat. OK, so maybe I am just a bit of a freak about touching food but otherwise I am perfectly normal.

I Love Blog Stalking

Meeting in St. Theresa Catholic Church Basement 7:00PM

Mr. B: Good Evening folks, we have a new member. Would you introduce yourself?
Me: Hello, my name is Marrdy and I am a Blog Stalker.
Everyone: Hi Marrdy.
Me: I started Blog Stalking about two years ago when my friend Suzy made her own blog. Once I clicked that little Next Blog button I couldn't stop. I stalk all day at work. I am addicted and I need help. I am so ashamed!
Mr. B: It's OK, we are here to help you. Now the first step you must take is to not check a blog ever again.
Me: WHAT? Are you nuts? How will I find out what all my friends are doing? How can I know if Heather in Arizona is doing alright. How can I not make sure that Insane Mama has not taken her daughter to the basement and tied her up until she turns 25. What if Mama's Losin' It goes on another vacation and I can't try to get in her hotel room, and what if I run into Dooce at the store (we do live in the same state you know) will I not be able to worship the ground she walks on? And what about Adiel? How can I work with her every week day and still not blog stalk her, and hear her computer ding every time I leave a comment? And Tonya's is new, what if I loose track of her adventures in California. And I just ordered a Piggy Bank from Lynn. I am sorry to waste your time.

I run screaming from the building and have now join the world of blogging. Please, please, please stalk me!