Memorial Day Weekend







"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."--John F. Kennedy.



Memorial Day is such a great time to teach your children about patriotism, freedom, liberty, and appreciation and gratitude for those who gave their lives for us that we might be and remain free. I am so grateful for the men and women who paid the price for my freedom.



Today is also my Grandma's 85th birthday. She lives out at the lake by herself and has been the hardiest and most un-elderlyish person I have ever seen but this year has taken a toll on my Grandma and she is beginning to slow down and show her age. This has been hard to watch. This weekend has been particularly difficult.






My grandma got sick this Fall and had to have an operation and she has just never recovered all her strength and energy. Then two weeks ago she got sick again and basically shut down. She stopped eating, started sleeping a lot, didn't want to see anyone and seemed to have given up on life. This is NOT AT ALL like her. She is a fighter. My mom and her brothers rallied and took charge of the situation and all Memorial Day weekend plans were put on hold and my mom spent the weekend getting my grandma back on track...as of tonight she was doing better.

My grandma is tough...as tough as nails at times. She has never been a warm and fuzzy grandma. She is a tell-it-like it is Grandma and that at times can be harsh but you respect her. She is the Matriarch of our family and out of her strength and steel (along with the unconditional love of my grandpa...who WAS warm and fuzzy) they created a most amazing family. She may not be warm and fuzzy but I love her and the amazing heritage and legacy she has given to all of us.

Happy Birthday Grandma!! I hope you feel better soon! I love you!

So due to the situation with my Grandma plans for Memorial Day were changed but we still had a good time. Saturday my Mom, Kelley, and I were supposed to have a "Girls Day" of pedicures, shopping, and eating...but with my Grandma needing help we put it on hold. We decided to go for a little "Family Adventure". We went to see a Dam that is near us (it belongs to the company Tyler works for...and he had just accompanied Reilly and her class there on a field trip) both Tyler and Reilly wanted to show the whole family. We stopped at the park near the dam and walked around and admired the view...and the history.

We had brought our bikes and the bike trailer so we set off on a bike ride (8 miles to be exact) on the Centennial Trail. We saw some areas we had never been before. The kids had a great time and it was fun to be out and enjoying the sunshine. It's a good thing we did because the rest of the weekend was rainy and cold...which would've put a damper on our plans of a weekend of boating, BBQing and lake fun anyway.

After our long bike ride we headed straight to Dairy Queen for a little sustenance! They have a really good blizzard of the month right now...Banana Cream Pie...YUM!

After that we bummed around in the town we were in and I did a little shopping. We ended up having a great day as a family. We already have the next stretch of our next family bike ride on the LONG Centennial Trail mapped out...we have done several sections already.

We decided to spend the rest of the weekend up at my mom's house...even though she wasn't there...it is so beautiful and relaxing...plus still close enough to help out with Grandma if needed. We had a fantastic time and hung out with Kirk. The weather was HORRIBLE. It was POURING rain the whole weekend but up there rain is just beautiful. Everything was so green...even if there was a river running through my mom's yard and straight into the bonfire pit.

The kids played and played. We watched lots of movies (St. Elmo's Fire, Raising Helen, Music and Lyrics and part of Days of Thunder). We ate lots of good food. We had our BBQ after all. Kirk made the MOST AMAZING steaks....which had been marinating over night in a Soy Ginger sauce and the BEST grilled asparagus.

I read lots of magazines (my mom gets the best ones) and read a good book. I love being up in the mountains with the windows open while it is raining with nothing that needs to be done but curling up and reading. It was so cozy!

Here are the kids playing dress-up with Uncle Kirky...He is such a fun...if a little wild...and slightly obnoxious uncle/brother. We were laughing all weekend!!

Having fun at Grandma's House...poor Mom...She kept calling to see what kind of fun things we were up too!!

Today we left around noon....it was still raining. We met my mom is Coeur d'Alene. She was ready for a break and my grandma had people visiting her so she was in good hands for my mom to get out for a bit. Whilst on our little bike ride I found four new thrift stores to check out. We have a Sisters Creed Sale (the business I have with my mom and sisters) coming up in July and so we need to get our projects done and scout out some good stuff for our sale. Rainy days are the best days for "junking". My mom found LOTS of great stuff...some for the business and some for her. I found mostly stuff for me! We had fun and had a great dinner!

Check out my thriftstore finds:


A darling pair of Chinese Laundry slides with kitten heels (the picture didn't turn out so great...I should of taken it from the side) in my size for... get this...$2.99!! I talked to my sister, Jordin, in Kansas City and she was GREEN with envy. She is a big Chinese Laundry shoe fan. I also found a cute pair of Blue Laura Ashley flip-flop slippers...never worn still with the tags on them for...drum roll please...$1.99. I am the flip-flop queen and I LOVE LOVE LOVE flip-flop slippers. I wear them all the time. My old pair is in shreds and sometimes they are hard to find...the reason why I am still attempting to wear my old shredded ones. Therefore I was very excited to find this pair. I also found 3 little sunburst shaped dishes to make candle holders with to sell in July.

I forgot to post about this last week. Reilly had her piano recital and she did an AMAZING job. She played "Spanish Guitar" and the best of the best...the theme from "Star Wars". This was her second year of taking piano lessons and she does a great job! She will soon take over playing the songs on the piano for Family Home Evening from "I-only-play-one-hand-albeit-with-great- feeling-and-emotion-ME!! ;)

I also forgot to say that Kelley and I managed to squeeze in two great workouts over the weekend. We met at the gym twice. One night after our regular work out we grabbed two basketballs and went and shot baskets for awhile...the basketball court was completely deserted...perfect for us. We did relay races while dribbling and made up other contests and mainly laughed and laughed...basketball kicked our butts! Tonight we met again...had a great workout...and then sat in the sauna sweating out our toxins and poisons...again while laughing like loons. I can't wait to do it again!


Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!

Book Review # 7 (A little late in coming)

I was very excited to read this book. As a psych major I was intrigued by its subject matter:



"Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant--in the blink of an eye--that actually aren't as simple as they seem...Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing"--filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables".



Hum...the unconscious, cognitive processes, split-second decision making, thin-slicing...being the psychology geek that I am...that stuff is right up my alley. I was so excited to get this book and begin reading. Then I got the book and began reading. The first chapter was great...unfortunately it all went down hill from there.



I think my friend, Lucy, summed it up best when she said:

"Basically, I think the author took a neat idea (we can make really good decisions in less than two seconds), did a little scientific research to back up his claim, and then beat a dead horse into the ground."



I found this book to be torturous. Torturous like when you have signed up for a class in college and you are really excited about it and then it turns out to be nothing like you thought and with a very lame professor to boot. That is what Blink was to me. It was like reading a psych textbook...for dummies. This whole book could have been an interesting article in a psychology journal but I felt like the author was stretching, and stretching, and stretching it out to be book length...and boy could I feel the STRETCHING!!



There were some interesting things in it...such as:



1.) A study was done on how to find out if someone would be a good employee...the study consisted of one group that met the prospective employees for lunches and dinners regularly for a year and spent time asking them all kinds of questions and the other group that dropped by their houses and looked around for 15 minutes...guess which group was better at judging whether or not someone would be a good employee? Yep...the 15 minute group. They were able to assess things like conscientiousness, open-mindedness, emotional stability etc. According to this study our personal belongings/living environment contain a wealth of very telling information.



-This study justified my inner snoop. I love people watching, blog reading, seeing how other people live, what they buy at the grocery store, looking at people's Ipod playlist, finding out what their top 5 favorite books are...WHY...because I believe it contains a wealth of information about them...and I guess I was right. Guess what one of our YW activities is next month..."Room Tour". We will go to each girls house and see their rooms and things that are important to them...coincidence? I don't think so.



2.) That being tall is an advantage in the business world and life in general. Interesting statistic according to the book : "In the US population , about 14.5 percent of all men are six feet or taller. Even more striking, in the general American population, 3.9 percent of adult men are six foot two or taller".



-That is CRAZY! Tall men ARE hard to come by. The average American male is 5 ft 9. When I shared this finding with my husband (6ft2) and my brother (6ft4) they felt supremely manly and spent the day strutting around lording their height over all the smaller men they came in contact with.



-Next interesting fact: The author polled CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and found that while the majority of CEOs are white males (we won't go into the injustice to women that is :) 58% of them were 6 feet and over and almost a third were 6 ft 2 or taller. And...through all kinds of boring studies researchers have found that an inch of height is worth almost $789 a year in salary. The book says : "That means that a person who is 6 feet tall but otherwise identical to someone who is five foot five will make on average $5,525 more per year".



3.) I found the section on Improv comedy fascinating. It was interesting to learn that improv isn't random or chaotic..."It is an art form governed by a series of rules" and those rules must be abided. The spontaneity isn't random.


-"One of the most important rules that makes improv possible...is the idea of agreement, the notion that a very simple way to create a story--or humor--is to have characters accept everything that happens to them". So basically when an idea is yelled out to an improv group they have to accept it and so does the rest of the group and then whatever a member of the improv group says the rest of the members have to accept...if they don't it doesn't work and isn't funny. After I read this I watched an improv show and low and behold it was actually true.


There were a couple of other topics that were interesting...the part about the Pepsi Challenge and the disaster of New Coke. I also liked the section where the author talked about how children from abusive homes are very good at thin-slicing and the art of "mind reading"...from years of learning in an instant from body language etc. how to judge a situation.


So there were some interesting topics but presented in such a mind-numbing fashion I wanted to scream!! Beat a dead horse is right! If I had to listen to the author bring up that stinking art museum and it's fake statue one more time I was going to lose my mind.


Book Review: SO-SO with a side of dull and mind-numbing...I'd skip it...I've just given you the highlights anyway! ;)

HE WAS ROBBED!!

Joey Fatone didn't win!! The agony. Are the planets and stars all aligned against me? All I wanted to do was watch freaking Dancing with the Stars and see my Joey win the mirror ball trophy...but I was denied!! To quote one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite movies (Kip...Napoleon Dynamite): "I am really T.O.ed!!!

Ok...Apolo Anton Ohno was my second favorite...I really liked his dance partner, Julianne Hough,...nice girl from Utah. I was THRILLED when Laila "too much testosterone" Ali was given the boot! But I was screaming at the TV when Joey and Kym came in second.

Oh well...I guess I shall recover...The Lost season finale had better be good!

Busy


Things are in full swing...and alas blogging and reading blogs have gone out the window. Too many activities, too many projects and too many headaches. Did I mention we have had a house guest for the past few weeks? Our old pal Murphy has moved in and decided he wanted to stay for awhile. (All you Dave Ramsey devotees know what I'm talking about). Anyway it has left little time for blogging.

Let me fill you in on some of Murphy's little shenanigans ...this all occurring in a two week period.

1.) Had to get a tire repaired on the Suburban. I came out of the library and heard a loud hissing sound. I looked around to see what kind of loud and obnoxious sprinkler was on...only to realize it was vast quantities of air spewing out of my tire...not a huge expense...but hugely annoying.

2.) Had to replace the alternator on the Honda.

3.) Had to buy two new tires for the Honda...Tyler had a tire blow out on his way to work.

4.) Tyler locked his keys in the Honda TWICE!!

5.) Tried to turn on our central air...broken

6.) DVD player stopped working.

7.) Turned on our sprinkler system...not working.

8.) Reilly has dental work that needs to be done.

9.) Took Reilly to the doctor to check out a weird mole on her head...looked scary to me...paid $20 to be told it was just a sebaceous gland. (Do not laugh Tiffany!!) But VERY GLAD it was just an oily pustule.

10.) Oh there's more...but I will leave it at that.

Kelley...maybe you could come and burn some sage and cleanse our house of our unwanted guest!! :)

Lucy...your package and book were the HIGHLIGHT of my week!! Thanks so much. Can't wait to get reading!!

Onto other topics:

I have also been up to my eyeballs in YW stuff...some fun...some just time consuming. Reilly had a field trip to the Museum and got to see the travelling Dinosaur named Sue, she is also on one today to the dam to learn about hydropower with Tyler (It is owned by the company he works for), Kameron got to dissect a squid (in Kindergarten!!) then they cooked it up and ate calamari, we had another "Girls Night Out" with our YW. It was a lot of fun. We watched the movie "Sense and Sensibility", ate carmel popcorn, drank smoothies, and ooohhed and aahhed over "Mr. Darcy". That was so much fun. Our non-official activities are going so much better than our "official activities". Oh...the kids also had their Trek (walk-a-thon). See pictures below.

The kids had a GREAT time...I spent my time trying to force some fluids down their throats! Kameron looked on verge of collapse 90% of the time...beet red, white ring around his mouth, wild-eyed, dodging the crazy lady with the stroller who was attempting to chase him down with water. Reilly for the most part ignored me and surfaced only for money to buy snacks and pizza. Ailey just wanted to get out of the stroller and run around too. Next year I will join the "seasoned" mothers who brought lawn chairs and hung out on the hill chatting. The kids did well though. I think Kameron ended up doing almost 3 miles and Reilly did 5 miles.

Then on Saturday Kameron had another T-ball double-header. It was FREEZING yet again. The first Saturday it was bitter cold, the next Saturday it was sweltering hot, and then freezing cold again. He did a great job.


After T-ball we went to our favorite Nursery and bought plants for our garden and our yard/deck. Project #2 is done. Our garden is planted and so are all our flowers. It is a relief to have that all done. Only 997 more projects to go! :)


Saturday night was our town's big Lilac Parade. It is a "torch light" parade...so it starts at 7:45pm. All the floats are lit up and even the bands are decked out in little white lights. It's actually very cool. When we first moved here I thought what a fantastic idea...after years of sweltering through the big 4th of July parade in Provo...this seemed like an awesome alternative. It is IN THEORY!! After nearly 6 years of living here I have only attended one pleasant parade. The rest we have been frozen or rained on. We didn't go last year...we were too tired from putting in our garden and decided to forget it. The kids were extremely disappointed and we heard about it all year. This year we were going no matter what...so we swigged down a couple of Red Bulls and made our way down town.

I will title this part of my post:

So Many Freaks So Few Circuses

I'd like to start this off by letting you all know that we are parade people. I really truly do love a good parade. Marching bands, floats, princesses, flags, military heroes...I really dig it ...and the people watching is just icing on the cake! We got there at 6pm (to get a good seat) and had to wait nearly 2 hours for it to begin. But we were prepared. I brought our cooler...we had snacks, a picnic, drinks...we were prepared. Let the show begin...and it did. Tyler and I were seriously entertained for the 2 hours of waiting for the parade to begin by just watching our local townsfolk. We (or should I say I) got hours of amusement from "crazy salad lady" next to us, not to mention, "white trash on a blind date" on the other side of us (ok...that might sound harsh...they were very nice people) the intriguing part in the exciting docu-drama of "white trash on a first date" was that they were like 50 years old and listening to them making HOURS of awkward conversation was truly entertaining. She also came to the parade with 4 kids that weren't hers and he nearly had a heart attack asking "who's kids are all these?" I just munched my popcorn and enjoyed the show. There was "Twin Blanket lady" across from us...who was also amusing. One of my former YW was across from us, there was also the guy who showed my kids how to play "See who will step in the horse poop" game (this kept them amused the whole parade). I so wanted to whip out my camera but it was a tad too obvious. I will have to be more sly next year. Tyler and I had a rousing game of "find the pretty people"! Tyler won with a grand total of 5!! Good times!! We also planted ourselves next to our favorite sushi restaurant for easy access. Because nothing says "parade food" like sushi!!





The kids had a ball and were dancing in the streets. Kameron was flirting with all the Princesses and cheerleaders. He got blown quite a few kisses and was LOVING it! The down side that it was so unbearably cold we could only stay through 140 entrees (that was 4 1/2 hours of fun) and then we left...to weeping and wailing...that the next 60+ entrants were probably the "best ones"!!





The high point of the night was when Tyler was holding Ailey and kept remarking how warm she was and what a little "heater-body" she was...I told Ty to pass her over to me...as I was a human ice cube...and I discovered that the "warmth" Tyler was enjoying was the fact that she had peed all over him!!


How sad that we have to wait another year to enjoy this kind of family fun...WAIT...the Fair will be here in a few short months. YES...we are Fair people...nothing says fun like Carnies and Deep Fried Twinkies!!

Crushes

This topic came up a book club last week. Do you get "crushes" on anyone anymore? The consensus was that not very often in "real life" but out there in "Celebrity Land"...maybe. Well...at least I do. I 'm happy to say that in real life I am very happy with whom I am married too. But I will admit to having a few crushes on celebrities...for example:

Hello McSteamy!!

And um...Sawyer.

And oddly enough...Joey Fatone.

These are my latest crushes...not to the point of stalking...just to the "please stop talking to me because I am WATCHING T.V.!!!" point.

At our house my "crushes" are well known...and often mocked! Tyler, on the other hand, very rarely will name his crushes. Very wise knowing my jealous and insecure side...I have been known to boycott movies and TV shows in which his "crushes" were stars. (I'm not proud of it...but it's true) I have managed to wheedle several out of him lately though...and NO...not one of them was my "supposed" look-alike ...Annette Bening (according to a member of our stake presidency ;). Blast that Jessica Alba and Eva Longoria!! I suspect he also enjoys Jennifer Aniston...but try as I might I can't dislike her...thank goodness it isn't the home-wrecker Angelina Jolie he likes...at least that he will admit too!!

So...here's my question for you all:

Do you have any celebrity crushes?

Mother's Day Weekend


On Friday Kameron's Kindergarten class had a Mother's Day Luau. It was so much fun. Kameron was so excited to have me come to his class. He has been talking about it for weeks. They did a cute program, sang some songs, had a slide show, and a lunch. The kids got to serve their mothers and say why they loved their moms. Kameron said, "I love my mom because she loves me". He also made me a laminated place mat with my picture on it and it said "My mom is special because she really loves to go to the store". Hum...I do? I was laughing because the mom's next to mine said "My mom is special because she loves to clean". Kids are so funny. His card said " My mom is the best. I know she loves me because makes me lunch and takes me to the movies". It was really cute. He also made me a very cute T-shirt with a picture of me on it that he painted. Kindergarten is such a sweet age.













Then on Friday night we got to babysit my nephew Kaiden overnight. This was his first night away from his mommy...both Kaiden and Jayme did very well. :) Kaiden is such a cutie! Tyler and I kept trying to keep him up so we could play with him. Tyler even got up for Kaiden's 3 am bottle and diaper change. This was amusing as Tyler has pretty much slept through each and every night feeding for our three children CLAIMING he just never heard them...VERY SUSPICIOUS!!





I had a great Mother's Day. We are starting our list of household projects and one of the things I wanted for Mother's Day was one of our projects finished. This sink/faucet has been an extreme annoyance since we moved into our house 4 years ago. Who puts bathroom knobs in the kitchen? The knobs were once clear but now they are yellowed and revolting. Plus, the faucet was so low that if I needed to fill up a deep pot I had to use the black sprayer/hose thing which was also disgusting and corroded.



Sink/Faucet before...GROSS!





Imagine my joy when I woke up on Mother's Day and found this little beauty all installed!! Such a pretty faucet and sprayer. Every time I walk into the kitchen it makes me happy. Imagine how ecstatic I will be when all the other 999 projects get done.


Sink/Faucet after...PRETTY!!

My family was very generous to me this Mother's Day. I was spoiled rotten. I got lots of great things to plant, hang, and wear. One of my favorite gifts was a book of poetry from Reilly...she is very talented. I also got to go to brunch...which I LOVE doing!!

On Mother's Day afternoon we all went out to the lake. We had a big dinner for my mom and my grandma. It was fun. I am stuffed. There's nothing more to say.





We missed Jordin who is in Kansas City. I love the expression on Kirk's face..."Are we done yet?"...he was smiling the pose before...it takes several shots to make sure everyone has their eyes open...um...I mean to make sure I have my eyes open!! ;) Do note the cute shirt I am wearing. It's a Kameron original. It got ALOT of wear this weekend.


Happy Mother's Day Mom!! You are wonderful and I love you very much!!


Oh...I almost forgot. Look at the great find I got at Goodwill. A Turkey Platter, two gravy boats, and matching salt and pepper shakers all in their original box...never used...for a whopping $4.99!! (Original price: $40 from Linens n' Things). How cool is that?

P.S. My sister Kelley has become an avid blog reader and felt that my blog could use some "spicing" up. She thinks I should pose questions at the end of my blog. So...stay tuned...and I will try to think of some "interesting" questions in the future...but it is almost 11 pm and I ain't got nothin'!! Sorry Nels!

Glorious May

I love the month of May. It truly makes me happy. It's not like gloomy January (the worst month of the year)where all the glitz and excitement of the holidays are gone and it's dark and drear and not to mention COLD. You've also got to wait a LONG time until summer. In May summer fun is just around the corner. There's less rain and more sunshine. The school year starts to wind down and the calender gets hopping. May is busy but fun.


We are getting into the thick of things now...It seems like every day on the calender is marked with some event: Anniversary, Mother's Day, Field Trips, Ballet recitals, Piano recitals, T-ball, BBQ, School parties...you name it we are doing it.

Here's just our first week:




Kameron's class had a field trip. They have been studying the ocean and marine life. There is a lady that lives not far from the school that has a huge aquarium in her house. The kids got to walk up to her house and get up close and personal with some sea life. Tyler decided that he wanted to accompany Kameron on this adventure and they had a ball. Dad at school is HUGE excitement in Kameron's world.







Kameron really got into it...which is slightly shocking because he isn't our most adventurous child. But he talked about holding that sea star and the other sea creatures for days. It amazes me how much he has grown and come into his own this year.




Then on Saturday Kameron started his T-Ball season. He played last year and really liked it. He was a bit more shy and awkward last year. This year he is hitting the ball like crazy and catching really well too. He RUNS to be the first in line to bat...again kind of shocking. On Saturday he had a double-header and it was FREEZING COLD. Hopefully this Saturday it will be a little warmer!





Look how cute he is in his uniform!! He was excited to have real "baseball" pants this year. The picture of him below is on first base...yes... he is my child...look at him posing for a little photo op!





When we got home from T-ball Reilly had decorated the house for our Anniversary! This was on the front door.







This was on our bedroom door...as was the one below. She had cut out stars and moons and hung them from our ceiling.











Reilly decided to be our little photographer and felt we needed a picture of us on our 12 year anniversary. Reilly had us do several poses. The kissing one was so reminiscent of our wedding day poses. Our photographer kept having us pose kissing. It was impossible. Every time we just started laughing hysterically. Nothing's changed in 12 years!!







Last night at book club Lucy asked me an interesting question. We were talking about my anniversary post and she asked me what it was about Tyler that attracted me besides his looks. It kind of took me off guard because I couldn't articulate anything that made any sense. Not because I couldn't think of anything but just because it is so hard to put into words what I felt meeting him. Everything seems cliche and trite. I just instantly felt a connection. I saw a face I some how "knew". I just remember him looking at me and REALLY seeing me. The real me. My world shifted. Then through dating I found out how kind, hard-working, loving, supportive, accepting, thoughtful, smart, confident and strong he was...he treats me so well...and yet he doesn't take any of my crap...he is confident in us and in our love...and he was persistant and patient. I guess it paid off. You'll have to ask him!! ;)

Twelve Years Ago Today...

This is the story of how Kristin met Tyler (well...actually we met briefly when we were in elementary school but we don't count that). It was a beautiful June afternoon...my grandparents were celebrating their 60th Anniversary and their party with friends and family was winding down. My grandparents asked me and Stacey (she was living with me in Provo for the summer before she started at Ricks in the fall) to take all the ancient aunts home. We loaded them up into my grandparents car...oxygen tanks and all...and delivered them to their homes. Stacey and I felt we needed a little break and decided to take a drive up Provo Canyon. We wanted to drive up to Springdell and see our old house etc. We did and then we decided to drive a little farther up the canyon to Bridal Veil Falls. When we got there we decided to get out and walk around. As we were getting out of the car I heard someone call my name. I looked across the river and there was my friend, Naomi (my childhood best friend and former dell resident). I was excited to see her. She had been away at study abroad in Jerusalem and I hadn't seen her since she had gotten back. She was on a mountain bike and someone was with her...also on a mountain bike. I had talked to her on the phone a few times and knew she was dating someone new.

Naomi and her friend rode across the bridge and met us in the parking lot. Let's just say I was shocked at her companion. He was HOT!! He had wild curly hair, an earring, and a big tattoo on his back. Not the normal boyfriend choice for my return missionary friend. She introduced him to me and Stacey as "Ty" and then we started to catch up. She asked me how things were going with my then-boyfriend, Chad. I told her things were great and that I was so IN LOVE!! All the while casting side-long glances at "Ty". Ty decided that he was going to return to their BBQ and let us chat (a big group of them were having a BBQ at Nun's Park)...Naomi told him she would catch up with him in a minute and he peddled off.

The minute he was out of earshot I grabbed her arm and said "OH MY GOSH!! Is THAT your new boyfriend??" She laughed and said no-that Ty was her boyfriend's best friend. Interesting. She invited me and Stacey to join them at the BBQ. We said ok but that we couldn't stay very long. As we got to their picnic area I saw Ty throwing a football around with a clean-cut bespeckled fellow...THAT was Naomi's new boyfriend, Kevin. AAaahhh...he was much more her type. Tyler and Kevin came over and we all chatted for awhile. I needed to give Na my new address (I had moved during the summer) and Ty said he would get a piece of paper and pen from his car. I watched him jog over to a hunter green Saab...yes...I was shallow enough to be very impressed. (Later that cute green Saab would be a gigantic pain in our butts!!). While Na and I were chatting I noticed that Stacey had disappeared. I looked around and found her to my dismay sharing a piece of cake quite cozily with Ty. I was extremely annoyed...there's nothing like the competitiveness between sisters especially as far as boys are concerned!! Why I was so annoyed I have no idea. Things really were going well between Chad and I...we had been dating for about 8 months. The only problem was that he went to the "U" and raced mountain bikes and that left me a lot of alone time...big mistake Chad!! I decided to go over and turn on the charm to Ty too...which of course I did...much to the annoyance of Stacey.

As we were leaving Stacey and I were whispering to Na about how cute Ty was...she informed us that he didn't have a girlfriend. She looked at Stacey and said "Do you want me to fix you up?" and I blurted out "YES!" I wanted to be fixed up...Naomi looked at me quizzically and then Stacey said very annoyed that "yes" she wanted to be set up!! Naomi looked at me again and said "Are you serious? You want to be fixed up" and I have no idea why but I said "yes" again. She said that she would talk to Ty and then give him our number and he could call who ever he was interested in.

Stacey was extremely annoyed and wanted to know what did I think I was doing when I already HAD a boyfriend. I truly had no idea. I told her to relax and that I was sure he would call her. Good grief I had just been gushing over how "in love" I was with Chad. We waited for that phone to ring for a few days. All the while talking about Ty incessantly.

Finally the phone did ring and the person he asked out was me. Poor Stacey. She was pretty ticked at me for a while and told me that there was no way she was going to cover for me with Chad. Ty asked me out for the 4th of July. Bummer...I already had plans with Chad. Lucky for me this was the year that the 4th of July fell on a Sunday and in Utah if that happens they celebrate the 4th on a Monday. As it turned out Ty was asking me out for that Monday. I ended up spending the true 4th of July in SLC with Chad...had a great time and then went out the next day with Tyler. I know!! I was horrible!

Tyler invited me to go with him, Kevin and Naomi up to Oakley, Utah for the 4th of July parade, a BBQ and the rodeo. A big group of them from UVSC (or UVCC as it was called at the time) were going up to this guy's cabin. I went and had a great time. The four of us drove up together and I remember laughing the whole way. Tyler and I had a ball at the parade. Oakley is a really small town up past Park City and instead of candy they threw hostess twinkies and ding-dongs etc. to all the spectators. Tyler grabbed tons of them and we ended up eating them for a long time after. We roamed around town and found a hamburger place called The Polar King. We went inside and I bought us snow cones (I liked to put on feminist aires...it didn't happen again :) ) . We played pool and I kicked Tyler's butt...that also never happened again...he let me win. Ironically they were handing out bumper stickers that said "It was love at first bite at the Oakley Polar King"...Tyler ended up having that sticker on his car for years...I still have it!

We went back to the cabin and sat on the deck and talked for HOURS. I felt so comfortable with him and was completely myself (what did I care...I already had a boyfriend anyway). When the sun started to go down we went to the rodeo. This is a very big and well-known rodeo...in later years ESPN began filming it. I love rodeos and had a ball except for the fact that it was BITTER cold and of course...as always...I was inappropriately dressed. I had on very short shorts, sandals and no coat or jacket. I HAD to snuggle up to Tyler or freeze to death right? We ended up holding hands and I kept getting looks from Naomi!! We drove down the canyon late that night and dropped off Naomi and Kevin. Naomi gave me another look and mouthed "CALL ME!" as she got out of the car.

At my apartment Tyler asked if he could come in...I said ok but only for a little while since it was really late...shortly thereafter he gave me a life-altering kiss and the rest is history....as was Chad!

Interesting side note: A year after we were married my mom decided that she wanted to move out of SLC and live in a smaller town while Kirk and Jordin were in high school. We kept telling her what a cute town Oakley was...we all drove up to take a look...Tyler found her a house...and she lived there for 5 years!! We were regulars at the Polar King and the rodeo! Funny huh?

Tyler and I newly dating...the top picture is at a wedding reception and the bottom is at my apartment in Enclave.

Here are more pictures from our dating years...yes...I did say years...poor guy!! Tyler decided that I was the one for him shortly after we started dating...but it took me awhile longer to decide he was "the one". I was very skittish about getting married and every time he brought it up I changed the subject. (I blame it on my parents!! :) ) I told him I had no interest in getting married. I had things to do!!

During this time my family moved from Houston to Salt Lake City, Naomi and Kevin got engaged and married, Tiffany and I decided that we were going to backpack through Europe so we went to part-time status at BYU moved to SLC, got full-time jobs, lived in an absolute hell- hole (yes... our parents were thrilled), Tyler's dad died, I met Tyler's family--scary!! (I have since grown to love them alot! Hi guys!!), Tiffany and I decided that we would NEVER earn enough money for 6 months in Europe and moved back to Provo and returned to full-time status at BYU, and Tyler and I broke up for 2 weeks while I got closure with Chad. AFTER all that...which was 7 months after we began dating I told Tyler that I would "consider" marrying him. He wanted to get engaged right away...I told him "How about in 6 months!!" Poor Tyler...reluctantly he agreed.

Tyler proposed to me on July 13, 2004. We were on vacation up at the lake. We went to Coeur d' Alene to the Coeur d'Alene Resort. We were walking around on the board walk at about 7pm...the sun was sinking and everything was "golden". Tyler had me sit down on bench on the boardwalk and he got down on one knee and proposed!! It was extremely romantic and people started clapping and cheering. It was awesome! We came back to the lake and my whole family was there...aunts, uncles, cousins...the works...it was VERY EXCITING!! My family has always LOVED Tyler and was extremely happy I had wised up! My mom asked when we wanted to get married and I said..."How about in a year!!" Poor Tyler!!

Here is our engagement photo. Check out the "double denim" look! Scary! Look at Tyler's clean-shaven face. I didn't end up making him wait another year...only 10 more months! I told you I was very skittish about marriage...both of us came from divorced homes and his family REALLY freaked me out! It was a LONG 10 months!! But we did it!

We got married on May 5, 1995 at the Salt Lake Temple. We were married at 10:40 am. We had a few minor mishaps. Tyler got pulled over for speeding on the way to the temple...he was running late. The officer asked him where he was going so fast and when Tyler told him to his wedding the officer grinned, gave him a warning and let him go. He also left without his insulin so my sisters had to go back for it. When I saw him for the first time in the temple in my dress he was extremely ticked off...not the dreamy look I had envisioned him having...his pants were too short!! Poor Tyler in his floods! Our wedding ceremony was beautiful except for my nervous hysterical laughing all the way through it!

We had our wedding brunch at Little America and then had our wedding reception at the Colonial House up by the Capital. It was absolutely gorgeous. I can't find a picture of the Colonial House anywhere so I will have to post one later. It is a beautiful cream mansion with white pillars...I wanted to look and feel like a "Southern Belle" which I did.

All through the reception Tyler kept whispering to me that he wanted to leave...I said "no way" not until the reception was officially over. When the clock struck at 9:00pm we were out of there. We sped away in our blue Acura Integra (the Saab had been sold to Stacey) decorated with rainbow-colored condoms and the words "To bed or bust!" written on the windows. Our car was decorated courtesy of my Uncle Steve and my cousins!!!

We had reservations at the Anniversary Inn not too far from the Colonial House. I was VERY nervous and suggested we take a drive around the temple and downtown before going to our hotel. Tyler sighed extremely loudly and took the corners around Temple Square on two wheels!! Before you could say "Victoria Secret" he screeched into the parking lot of the Anniversary Inn! (Oh yeah...Tyler forgot his insulin again and a family member had to deliver it to our hotel). The next day we left for a four day honeymoon in VEGAS!! We had a blast...and now here we are 12 years later...14 years after we met!

Happy Anniversary to Tyler...a very patient and loving man!! I love you very much and here's to 50 more years baby!!

Look What The Fourth Grade Girls Are Doing!!

Imagine my shock on Sunday afternoon as Reilly and I were laying on the couch while she read to me from her poetry book and her leg touched mine and I felt the tell-tale feel of STUBBLE!! Here is the conversation that followed:



Me: Reilly!! Did you shave your legs?

Reilly: Um...No.

Me: Reilly! Tell me the truth!! Did you shave your legs?

Reilly: Um...yes.

Me: WHY??

Reilly: Because I look like a hairy monkey.

Me: NO...you do not!

Reilly: Yes I do!

Me: No you do not! And...you aren't old enough to shave your legs!

Reilly: All my friends shave their legs.

Me: I highly doubt that.

Reilly: No...they do!!

Me: Who?

Reilly: ALL OF THEM!!

Me: Yeah right!

Reilly: They do and I'm not going to be the only hairy girl in fourth grade. (large eye roll) Mom, things are ALOT different than they were in the OLDEN DAYS!!



How is this starting so early!! It turned out that she used my razor...no soap, no shaving cream, no nothing! It gives me the creeps just thinking about it. She a did a pretty good job...no nicks or cuts. I was completely unprepared for her wanting to shave her legs. Good Grief!



I wasn't allowed to shave my legs until 7th grade. It never even crossed my mind until about a month before 7th grade started and someone informed me that I might want to do it. I was outside in the dell hanging out and my friend, Kyle, ever so nicely said "Ever think of shaving your legs there, Sasquatch!" (Yes...many years later I can still remember his exact words). Actually I never had...don't you love annoying neighborhood boys! I went inside and told my mom that I needed to start shaving my legs. I told her what Kyle had said and she told me he was an idiot...yes...but he was also a high schooler and therefore VERY knowledgeable in the ways of the world.



She bought me a ladies white electric razor. Apparently she was quite aware of my lack of hand/eye coordination and thought that if I used a regular razor I might just somehow slit my throat! I used that stupid electric razor for a year. It did absolutely nothing but create lots of stubble. Eventually I moved onto my personal fave the pink daisy razor and never looked back!




***When did you guys start shaving your legs? When are you going to let your daughters shave their legs?***


P.S. Tyler has no idea about this...Hi Sweetie...I hope your heart palpitations have subsided!!

Exciting

Our weekend passed by in a blur. We got off to a great start. Ailey and I met Tyler for lunch on Friday. This is becoming a regular thing. It's nice to meet for a little while during the day. We also found out that Reilly got promoted in ballet to 3A which is pre-ballet (that is the year they get toe shoes). She has been in Ballet 3 for 2 days a week this year and pre-ballet one day a week. Next year it will be all pre-ballet 3 days a week. This will be very challenging. They will be working all year on developing their muscles etc to be strong enough support them in toe shoes at the end of the year. Her teachers are very strict and if they haven't warmed up enough they have to sit out of class. Reilly will have to be checked by her doctor at the end of next year to make sure her bones, muscles etc. are strong enough and developed enough that dancing in toe shoes won't cause any damage before those toe shoes are handed over. She is very excited!



Friday night we had a "Girls Night Out" at Jayni's house. Valynn and I both went and we invited any of the YW who happened to be available to come eat pizza, play games, and hang out. We had several girls come including some of the girls who probably needed it most but we expected wouldn't want to come. It was a huge surprise that they were there. We had an absolute blast!! I was seriously sad when it was time for the parents to come and pick the girls up. We played the game "Imagine if" and "Catch Phrase" and laughed like crazy but the best part was that we all just sat around talked. I got more out of those girls in one night than in a year of official activities and church. It was amazing. The girls had a great time and were begging us to do it again!! Who knew?? Then at church on Sunday they were raving about it to all the girls that weren't there. Wow! This has been the best thing we have ever done for our YW. I think our relationships with them grew by leaps and bounds.


Here are some pictures from that night:

Jayni, Valynn, Kristin, Hannah, Kati, Melanie and Nicole

Dogpile on poor Nicole

Handstand Contest

Then on Saturday Tyler and I went for our usual walk with Mrs. Beasley. It is crazy how much I look forward to our Saturday morning walks. We are starting to look around for a house. We will probably not sell our house for another year...we have several large projects we want to complete first...but we are starting to scope out neighborhoods and homes we like...we have several areas that we really like but our ward is about to be split in August and we want to see where those ward boundaries will lie. Oh...and... yes... our big walk ended in us going out for breakfast.



That afternoon Kirk came. He is finally going to make it "official" and is proposing to Jayme!! HALLELUJAH!! It's about time. He wanted Tyler and I to come with him to help him pick out an engagement ring. I was to be the hand model. Hum...spend a Saturday afternoon trying on diamond rings...I'M THERE!! I found quite a few lovely items that I kept showing to Tyler and hinting about. Kirk found a stunningly gorgeous ring. Jayme is going to love it!!

This is not her ring...it is a surprise and I wouldn't want her finding out before the big proposal. We also went all over town scouting out romantic locations where he could propose. I had a ball! I love doing this kind of stuff. I am excited for Kirk and Jayme. This past year has been rough on them but they both have grown and matured so much from going through all they have and I am excited that it's going to be official. I love Jayme a lot and she is such a great addition to our family.

After all our "hard work" we went out to eat at a FANTASTIC restaurant. We chowed down on Teriyaki Chicken, Goyoza, and Kim Chee. Kim chee is an acquired taste but I really like it. We had a Korean couple who lived with us as kids. The wife was one of our nannies. Anyway...they cooked the most fabulous food and Mee hee made the BEST kim chee. It is basically cabbage that has fermented and is really spicy. Our nanny used to make it and then bury it in our back yard to let it ferment and then she would dig it up. It smells atrocious but tastes good although we have yet to find any as good as Mee Hee's... Tyler didn't like it at all. Oh well! More for me and Kirk!

We stopped over at Kelley's for a while and hung out. She gave us some bad news. She is contemplating moving back to SLC. I will miss her like crazy if she does. I also talked to Jordi and she is contemplating moving back here from Kansas City. So who knows what will happen?

Kirk then stayed the night and helped us do a TON of yard work. We cleaned out flower beds and Kirk and Tyler worked on our garden. I am so excited to get planting!! We then watched movies and BBQed by the light of the moon...seriously....Tyler was out grilling with his head lamp on.

The rest of the weekend was busy although I did meet Kelley for a work out. I've got to get those workouts in all I can before swimsuit season! Ugh!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Stacey and John!!! They have been married for 6 years now! I think Stacey is ok with me saying this now...she is pregnant with their second child!! Yay!