TEENAGER!!

I would be a horrible, rotten, no-good mother if I didn't recognize my teenagers birthday!   You may wonder, along with us, why we chose to have a baby December 22, 1994.  So close to Christmas!  I do hope Ethan doesn't feel "over-looked" amid the Christmas chaos.  We do love Ethan.  He is a great young man.  He has a great set of friends, and they have lots of fun together.  Ethan loves the following:  1) His mother of course:).  2) football 3) skiing 4) lacrosse 5) food.  Actually, I should have put food as #1!  He eats sooo much.  But I guess now that he's as tall as Blake, wears size 11 shoes, and grows like a weed, he can afford all the calories.  Ethan told me the other day that just in case he dies skiing, he wanted me to know that he keeps a note from his Grandma Blotter, and a picture of me in his ski coat.  I was so touched!  We have had our bouts with the teenage attitude.  But for the most part, Ethan is surviving teenage-hood well.   He always makes us laugh.  We can all be gloomy, and he'll say something to crack us all up.  Whenever Ethan is gone, we are all in a slump.  Supe is a wreck without his big brother.  Ethan is his best friend.  Ethan wants to be an NFL star, or a professional skier.  Big dreams!  We love you Ethan.  Happy Birthday!

What are you getting for Christmas?

I have been requested to  make more posts of our Africa trip.  This may be a timely post as we are all caught up in the "giving and getting" of Christmas. At least I am!  

These two darling little girls are members of the church in Ghana.  Their dad is a security guard at the temple.  He was such a darling man.  His blood pressure was like 250/125.  He was just a ball of stressed energy.  He deeply loved his two little girls.  The first night we did a clinic there, he snuck in, (for he was supposed to be keeping guard!), and asked me to check him over.  He just is one big grin from ear to ear.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that his blood pressure was terrible.  I told him to make sure to eat really good, and to get on medicine.  Yeah right.  

The last day we also did a clinic at this spot.  He snuck in again and caught my eye.  He had these two little girls, his daughters, behind him.  He asked me to check them out also, and then he ran back to his watch.  I had been given three of the little dolls pictured on the left.  They were a simple pattern found on the LDS humanitarian guide.  I saved them and saved them for just the right little girls.  I immediately knew these girls needed my last doll.  After checking them over and talking to them, I asked them if I could give them something.  They nodded.  I pulled out my little doll and immediately they both threw there palms to their cheeks.  They didn't even know how to react.  The happiness was on their faces said it all.  I put it into the littlest ones hands with tears in my eyes.  They were both hugging it and loving it so much.  I also had a little pencil kit that I gave to the older girl.  I had just given these to them when their dad came running back to the room to grab them.  Without even saying a word, the two girls gave me a huge hug and went running out with their dad.  One doll and a pencil kit.  How much am I spending on each one of my children this year?  

Temple

I know you may get sick of hearing about my trip.  In my next few posts, I can't help but share some of my faith-building experiences.  The man in this picture is from Nigeria.  I met him on the temple grounds in Ghana.  He was staying at the temple lodging for a week doing back to back sessions.  He has saved for two years to be able to come to the temple.  Two years!  He lives in Nigeria with his wife, twin sons, and a younger son.  They live in a one room home.  It is 10X12 feet.  While we were talking he told me that his wife was very sick with malaria.  He is in the branch presidency in their little ward in Nigeria.  He told me that he was trying to get a small keyboard for their meetinghouse.  Upon talking to him, I realized how grateful I should be for the small things in life.  I am grateful that I had a big beautiful organ to sing to this morning at church.  

Most of all, he strengthened my testimony of the temple.  I marvel at his willingness to save for two years, the equivalent of 30,000 US dollars, to be able to make the trip from Nigeria to Ghana.  Do I have that dedication?  I have a temple two miles away from my home.  I wake up and look out my big front window at it every morning.  I wonder if I am sacrificing enough to attend the temple regularly.  I told him how grateful I was for his example.  He smiled and said he must hurry and eat so he can get back.  Wow.

AFRICA

We made it back from our big trip to Africa.  Ethan and I went for nine days with a medical service team.   My life changes for the better each time I go.  My testimony is strengthened as I see God's love around the world.  I am grateful my father urged me to become a nurse.  I have been so blessed to have this opportunity.    It was such a pleasure to take my son.  He is a great young man with a big heart.  He never complained about our conditions.  Probably because he saw so much need.  

I would love to talk to anyone who is interested in helping or donating funds to this great charity.  I don't think we realize how blessed we are.  We have homes, we can turn on the faucet and get fresh clean water.  So many things I take for granted were brought to my attention.  

I am grateful most of all to a wonderful family who supported me and helped me while I was away.  Blake, you are the best.  I don't deserve such a wonderful mate.  You are my rock!  I was so happy to come home to a clean house, a big welcome home sign, and Christmas lights!  You truly make me up to want to be a better person.  And my parents.  I love them so much.  My children are so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents that love and care for them.  Thanks to them for helping with the little rugrats while we were away.  Africa was a wonderful experience.  I hope I don't let the spirit of the trip fade away!  

TAGGED

Here is my "tagged" photo.  Don't turn me in to domestic affairs please!  We are not training child rebels.  Well, I guess, in a way, we were!  That is scary.  The boys (including our neighbor) got paint ball guns for Christmas a few years ago.  They were a blast.  My dad came over and was very skeptical about the safety of these guns.  Ethan told him to just try it.  He begged him to just stand at our door and give it a shot.  My dad stood at our front door, and shot it.  He hit our flag pole in the front yard.  He let out a yelp of laughter.  I think grandpa was convinced they were a blast.  Fun memories!  

The greatest generation

I rarely write about books I have read.  I just finished reading The Book Thief, and I had to comment.  This book is one of the best books I have ever read.  I highly recommend it.  It is narrated by death.  Yes, death himself.  It is about Nazi Germany in World War 2.  If you haven't read it, get a copy today.  It makes me think about a Tom Brokaw book I read, The Greatest Generation.  I believe  the Lord has selected everyone to come at their right time.  I am intrigued by this so-called "greatest generation".  My grandparents lived in this era.  Heck, my parents were born in this era, and they are certainly the greatest.   I love reading about the sacrifices this generation made.  Just coming out of the great depression, and entering a world war.  How would I handle that?  Could I live on rations?  Would I help in an army hospital?  Worse yet, could I send my husband over seas to fight a war I couldn't follow on CNN?  Or would I moan and complain, and blame whoever I possibly could for the situation I was in.  Certainly it is was the president's fault right?  Maybe the cabinet or the senate.   

I am going to make a conscious effort to not complain.  We are so blessed to live in this time.  Sure we have our major problems, but we can learn so much from those who came before us.  What era would you visit if you had your choice?  

Politics as usual?

I can't help but post some thoughts about the election.  I posted this darling picture of my children.  They are about done with me always begging to take their picture!  My kids have been on my mind a lot throughout this election.  Now, I know we all vote differently.  That is why we live in America right?  Freedom to vote.  Freedom of religion. Hubby gave just an awesome talk to our youth last night on why we live in America, and the responsibilities we have living in this great land.  I have taken this probably to the extreme this election.  I look at my three little rug-rats, and wonder what I can possibly do to help them in these tough times.  They are our future.  Anything I can do to promote a better future for them, you bet I am going to do it.   I have read endlessly about the candidates.  I really have given more thought to this election than any other.  There were such good things and bad things about each candidate.  I went to the temple and gave it much thought and prayer.  I seriously felt like my vote really mattered, which in reality, it probably didn't.  Casting my vote did give me hope though.  After finally making my decision, I felt very confident and relieved that my stress was all over.  I did my part by researching and voting for the person I felt would most benefit my children in the future.  I am very relieved it is all over, and I can stop stressing about it!  I am so glad to have the freedom to vote.  It makes me feel  like in some way I do have control over what happens to my darling children.  Happy post-election day!!  WHEW!!

HALLOWEEN

This is our 5th annual Halloween family party.  The Sunday before Halloween, I have all the fam over in full costume.  We have soup (my mom's most famous soup ever), served in pumpkin bowls.  It is so fun seeing everyone come in full costume. My mom came as Dorothy.  She had red shoes.  Not the best costume this year.  Last year she was a very great Japaneese girl.  But we cut them some slack because they are still in shock about going to Russia.  We have had some great years.  Last year, our family dressed in cow costumes.  And, ketchup and mustard?  Aren't they great?  It's so much fun to all get together.  We look forward to this all year long!  The one thing that gets everybody...if you don't dress up, you don't get to eat!!  That really inspired my 14 year-old to pull through with a costume.  Happy Halloween! 

FALL

I LOVE fall.  I love "sweatshirt weather".  I feel the need to bulk up.  I buy lots of goods at the caselot sale.  I bake lots of yummy treats.  I pull up my flower beds, and rake the huge beautiful leaves that fall from my huge trees.  It is just great.  I also love to make my kids go on long walks with me.  They think I'm most crazy.  I stop about every five seconds and tell them to look and admire their surroundings.  They smile and say uh-huh, fully knowing that their mom is off her rocker.  I tell them that I always take pictures in my head.  That way, if I loose my eyesight, I will have these stored up pictures.  So we all walk around and pretend to "click" the picture.  I treasure these times with my husband and kids.  Even though they just about pass out everytime I bring up the word, once we get going, we all have fun.  I find out so much about each child.  It's a non-judgement zone.  We learn so much about each other while enjoying our beautiful world.   It doesn't take any preparation, and it's FREE!   What could be better?  

Missionaries!

Congratulations to my mom and dad.  They got their mission call to Belarus.  It is the western Russia mission.  My mom said she reads everyday about people her age dying, and she is going to Russia.  They will be great missionaries.  There mission is a welfare mission.  They cannot proselyte, or they will probably be hanged or something dreadful.  My parents are just the greatest.  I am so sad to see them leave!  They help me every single day of my little life.   It will be very hard for me to be without them.  But I am so excited for them to have this adventure.   I guess it's my turn to share them with the people of Russia.  They leave January 5th.  Just in time to grab one of those big furry Russian hats.  I'm sure there is a name for those.....  

"Speed Racer"

The red ribbon race was a huge success!  Rachael was determined to do the race.  We woke up to wind, cold, rain, then eventually, SNOW!  Supe had a soccer game, Ethan had a football game.  They could not participate.  I think Rachael just thought this was her race.  We started out running it together, and Rachael finished ahead of her dear mother.  I could tell she was sad to leave me in the dust.  I am so happy to finally have a runner in the family!  Those lanky little legs just sped her right to the finish line.  It was fun to watch her run past people in Supe's grade.  If you can't tell, I am overly proud.  Good job Rachey!!  

BYU/USU

I have had a couple of days to cool down after my explosion on KVNU's coaches show.  Most every night between 5:00-7:00pm, I am driving my kids to and fro.  I always listen to "We the People", and usually the "Aggie Coaches Show after that.   I admit I am a very outspoken person.  That being said, I could not sit and listen to them bash BYU and Riley Nielsen any longer.  They were talking about the game tonight between BYU and USU.  Background is BYU doesn't even have to play USU.  They do it basically as a favor.  Last Tuesday night, this radio program played an interview between BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, and the host of this local program show.  The host asked Bronco if BYU went to Riley while on his mission and recruited him to BYU.  Bronco responded that BYU did not contact Riley while on his mission.  He said that a missionary's time is to be spent serving our Heavenly Father.  He said that Riley's family actually contacted BYU and that is how the offer was made for Riley to play for BYU after his mission.  He gave such a good interview, and I admit, I am very biased toward coach Mendenhall.  (Ethan was so impressed with him after going to the BYU football camp.  We also have listened to several firesides he has given.)  After the interview had ended, the DJ went on this all out attack on the interview.  They said that of course BYU wooed Riley while on his mission.  They basically discredited everything the coach had just stated.  Well, here Alison steps in.  I was on my way to yw activity night.  I had Supe in the car with me.  I couldn't take the accusations and the name calling anymore.  I called and told them that we as a community should all rally around Riley Nielsen and maybe, even go as far as cheering him on when he plays for BYU.  I asked the DJ if he had the opportunity to play for a winning team versus a losing team, what he would choose.  The DJ said that for sure he would play for USU because of tradition.  That got me even more riled up.  So for five minutes I went back and forth with this man about BYU.  I could go into more detail, but for the sake of us all, I will not elaborate.  Now I know that many of my readers are die-hard USU fans.  And my qualm was not with the whole BYU/USU rivalry.  Honestly, there is no rivalry anymore.  We are way out of their league.  The only point I was trying to make is that we should support someones decision, instead of tearing them down.   What do you think his decision should have been?   

The search is over...

I have searched many weeks for a white dresser.  Rachael has been in need of one for quite some time.  However,  I have been told that I am a bit cheap.  I have looked every single day on KSL for one, I've searched the papers and gone to garage sales.  This last Friday though, I found the perfect one.  I scanned the paper for the upcoming garage sales.  One stated they had a dresser, and they listed their phone number.  I begged to come that very minute because I was to be in some far away city for football the next morning.  They allowed it.  (This may be a helpful note to future garage sale holders.  I think it is very beneficial to leave a phone number listed when advertising the upcoming sale).  Anyway, back to my story.  It was the night of the homecoming game, and the dresser was right above SV.  I told Blake he had to come with me to make the purchase.  The dresser cost me ten dollars.  The knobs were old and brass and gross, but I was thrilled to finally find one.  The day before I was about to give up and spend three hundred smackers on  one.  We decided to grab something to eat to celebrate.  I was sitting at Firehouse pizza, relishing in my new purchase, when I remembered I had friendship bread baking in the oven.  (I think I have early onset alzheimers.)  I called hoping someone would answer at my house.  Ethan was of course hootchy-cooin' with his friends at the game.  Supe and Rachael where home with their friends.  I called and walked Supe through taking the bread out.  That darn amish bread takes ten monotonous days of sitting on my counter before I can bake it.  I was bound and determined not to ruin it.  The excitement of the dresser merely through me off course. 

The next day I went to Lowes, Walmart, and Home Depot to find new knobs.  They were all so expensive.  They would've cost me at least thirty dollars.  I gave up and was settling for the brass beauties.  Then Blake gave me the idea of putting two small knobs instead of finding the big expensive ones.  So back to Lowes I went.  The knobs ended up costing me seven dollars.  The lamp I bought to go on top cost more than the dresser!  Rachael was thrilled, and I was thrifty.  The bread was pretty good too!  

Gratitude and other ramblings

Saturday I was thinking about some advice a good friend, and fellow blogger, told me about gratitude journals.  She said that one  day all she could think to be grateful about was that she had been able to put mascara on for the day.  I have been bad lately about keeping up with my gratitude journal.  All too often I dwell on the bad things that are going on in my life.  It's easy to focus on our trials.  So this week I am making a strong effort to focus on the good things of life.  There is so much to be grateful for!  One of those things is definitely family.  Yesterday we went to Sunday dinner at my sister-in-laws house.  Our husbands and my dad are fishing in Alaska this week.  It was so fun to be together with my mom.  My mom is just one of my most favorite people in all the world.  We had a yummy dinner and then watched an episode of "The Love Boat".  For any of you needing just a great laugh, and good show for kids, this is it.  It brought back floods of memories.  The kids laughed about the high  white knee highs, and the short shorts.  It was great.  Check it out sometime!  Have a very grateful week!  

NYC

Okay, I was waiting to download all our NYC trip photos to my post.  But I think my computer ate the photos.  They are lost forever.  So, Blake and I had a great trip.  I realized that I love tennis lots and lots.  I wish I could play more, but tis' not my season.  I got to finish "Persuasion" on the plane, and also got caught up on the presidential debacle.  Blake and I also tuned into "The Office" on the plane.  I was laughing so hard in my seat that I snorted.  With earphones on and laughing loud, I am sure passengers are still telling stories about me.  It's nice to be back, and I am so grateful for family and friends who helped out with the kids.  We went to ground zero, and my heart went out to all the victims of that terrible ordeal.  It is all too easy to forget things when they don't affect us personally.  9/11 is very personal to all New Yorkers.  I felt such a sense of respect and reverence at this site.  I vowed to remember more the people behind the tragedies of life.  I will pray for them and their families with greater fervor.  I am grateful to live in such a beautiful place.  America truly is beautiful!  

Back To School Blues

I have no great picture to share.  Nothing really amazing has happened to even post a blog about.  I am now left at home for the first time in a very long time of mothering.  Only to realize that I am not done with this phase of my life.  I am needing another child somehow.  Hopefully the Lord will guide hubby and I in the right direction.  I'm also all in a tailspin about Biden being the vice presidential candidate.  I have never liked  Biden, but I really like Obama.  What's a girl to do about that situation?  

  In a few days Blake and I are off to NYC to see the US Open.  He knows I have always wanted to see these big matches, and set up the whole thing.  If I weren't in the throws of back to school depression, I would be head over heels excited.  I am excited to have a husband that really cares about me.    I am blessed with a great family.  I love them probably too much.  So enough of my ramblings.  I am sure I will pull myself together before you know it!  Unless that is, I get mugged in NYC.  Now that would be awful......

Have You Seen this Suspect??

Okay, so I think we are ready for school to start.  Ethan was down getting his room ready for his new clothes and stuff.  He kept coming up with these various outfits on.  I think I need to get him into a school counselor ASAP.  If Saudi Arabia saw clips of this photo, Ethan would be transported to their brainwashing tanks fast.  

On a different note.....I am most excited to have this be my first post from my brand new apple computer.  Our old computer got an awful virus.  Actually, I feel very blessed that I was the one to see this virus.  I was checking my email, and all of a sudden, this horrible porn picture downloaded onto my computer.  Soon after, several other pictures popped up.  I hurried and turned my computer off.  I called several computer stores who assured me it is a common virus.  I called the apple store, and they said that it wasn't an apple computer.  He said, "Apple's don't get viruses."  He said it very matter-of-fact.  So, Blake came home with a new apple computer.  It is most awesome.  The screen is huge.  My i-tunes and i-pictures are just built right in.  I highly recommend it to anyone.  Let's hope it remains virus free!  Happy back-to-school everybody!  

This post is dedicated to my son, Supe. It was his birthday August 2nd. He turned 11 years old. It seems like just yesterday he was born. I know parents say that all the time. But I especially remember Supe's birth. He was born in 45 minutes at Logan Regional. He had nucal X4. This means that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck four times. At that moment he earned his nickname, Supe. He has been a superman every since day one. At two weeks, we found out his right eye was all mucked up. We went down to Primary Childrens Hospital and he had a surgery at one month. They tried to see the extent of the trouble in his eye. They soon had to do another surgery to try to see if the first surgery worked. Go figure. Soon after this surgery, his retina totally detached and he is now blind in that eye. I remember taking my sweet, new little baby down and handing him over to the anesthesiologist, wondering what in the world was happening. Post-partem moms are a wreck in the first place. This was just frosting on the cake. I remember waking up at 4:00am to drive down for the surgery. I had to keep him fasting, and I wondered how in the world I was going to do this. The Lord heard my fears, and Supe slept the whole way down. Little miracles like this kept happening over and over again. We were told that we had to put this shell into his eye to keep the shape of the occipital orbit growing. For the first two years of life, every morning and every night was spent trying to shove this awkward shell into his eye. He would scream uncontrollably with pain. For at least an hour after inserting the shell, he would weep and his whole eye would swell. A big red patch of rash would soon spread on his face because of the foreign object. For each of these events, we would have to strap him down. I would sit on top of him, Blake would hold his feet down, and Ethan would hold his arms about his head. It was dreadful. Doing this every day to my sweet little boy was very hard. It broke my heart. Finally, one day, I gave up. I said "no more". We were living in Lehi at the time. About a year after, we found a doctor practicing in Provo that offered to do a surgery on Supe's eye that would hopefully alleviate the pain of the putting in the shell. We did the surgery, and it was successful. I know it was successful because of the fasting and prayers of family and friends. Today Supe is still able to wear his shell. He is a spunky, troublemaker. I am so grateful for him in my life. I am grateful for all that I learned from him. Last year he lied to the PTA worker doing vision screening. Almost gave her a heart attack. I am grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing me with this child. I know many of you blog readers have much harder pregnancies, births, troubles, and trials. I am in in no way complaining about my plight. I am just merely expressing gratitude for all I am blessed with. Supe- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Holiday Fun

Every year we participate in the 24th of July parade in Hyde Park. I am now down to only one parade a year! This year Ethan drove Rachael on the 4-wheeler, and Supe and his cousin rode the go kart. This year, Ethan thought he may be "to cool" to actually participate in the parade. He was a good sport to take his little sister though. We assured him he was way cool. Rachael loves "mothering" her little cousins. I am not ready for it to be August already. Summer is such a fun time. The 24th of July is one of my favorite holidays! No presents, no over-planning- just a time to kick back and relax with family and friends. I hope you all had a great holiday!

Park City

What a fun trip Park City is. I recommend it to anyone just wanting a bit of a getaway. We bought this Marriott timeshare a few years ago. (Much to Blake's chagrin.) I, however, love it. It MAKES us get away and be a family. There is so much to do in Park City. We had a ball. We hiked to the top of the Y in Provo. Ethan was all over doing that. He heard at football camp that the center of the BYU football team ran the Y in 18 minutes. Now you all know that the center is like the biggest brute of the team. So Ethan was convinced he could run it faster. He ran it in 24 minutes. I couldn't believe he even did it in that time. It was killer! Straight uphill. But such a fun thing to accomplish. I'm sure my friend Heidi, who LOVES BYU, would just be all over doing this feat. ha ha.


We also went to the Olympic Park. If any of you have not been there yet, I hightly recommend it. We loved this! You can watch the ski jumpers still go off the big jumps and land in a big pool of water. It was really cool. I cannot believe how scary that would be. We also saw the luge were the skeleton and bobsleds go. It was incredibly steep. For a mere sixty dollars, anyone can ride the luge. It takes about sixty seconds flat. We passed. We already tickets for the alpine slide later that day. Anyway, we had just a great trip. My sister-in-law lives in Heber, and we just love the cousins. It's always hard to get back into life after being on vacation!

This is our fam on top of the Y. We even could see above the smog!

Nano Crisis

Okay. You may be asking yourself, "Why is this dumb picture of Alison's nano on her blog?" I will answer this question my dear friends. This happens to be my sixth ipod. Much to my chagrin, and even much much much to Blake's chagrin, I have a nano abuse problem. I LOVE my nano, and I have loved my IPODS. I cannot survive running without them. The problem I face is upkeep. My first died from all the sweat getting into the main system and failing. The second IPOD got rained on while I was running. My third just didn't ever work out for me, so I gave it to my son. I like the nano better. It's smaller, and can click right onto my shorts. However, that proved to be disatrous for my fourth nano. I washed it right along with my shorts. Now my last and final nano, according to Blake, is ruined. I got it my birthday and I was so excited. I kept it in my car and pampered it ever so gently. We were on our way, late, to the Fowers for a barbeque. I held our meat marinating in soy sauce on my lap. Blake turned sharp, and the soy sauce spilled. It got onto my nano. I hurried and brushed it off, but it was dead. So, I had heard that you can wash them, let them dry out, and then they will work again. So this is day five of hoping the nano will regenerate. I washed it. I dried it with a little fan, and charged it. No signs of life. I am a wreck about it. Blake says no more. I say it is really his fault for driving liking a crazy man. Who wins? We'll see......So goodbye purple nano.

Fourth of July Fun

Did you all have a great holiday? We enjoyed ours very much. We took the kids to hike the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It was great. Very hot, but great. Supe thought he would perish on the way, but a good song of "Oh One Fine Day" brought him right out of his funk. We had yet, another barbeque and five thousand calories later, went to bed. I am grateful for this holiday. It gave us a chance to be together as a family and celebrate life in general.

Family Kickball

Tonight was the kick-off of our summer kickball. Every Sunday night in the cool summer evenings, our family gathers at my house for kickball. It really is a hilarious event. The kids look forward to it all day. It's great to see my seventy year old parents out there just a kicking and running away. They are great sports. I hope to be doing that when I am seventy! It always gets a little heated. Last night we thought of calling our neighbor to referee us. We play and then have a yummy treat. This is one of the reasons why I LOVE summer!

Three hours and pink background!

I hope you enjoy the pink background. It only took me an hour to figure it out. I am very proud. I hope, fellow readers that you do indeed like pink, and that you don't get sick of it for a very long time!!! Cheers!

Pets R Us

I frequently ask myself, why pets? We have two cats, one dog, and now only one bunny. We have buried three bunnies already. Supe has a tendency to kill bunnies. Blake continues to fold, and buys him one right after the other. I took this picture when our dog had puppies recently. Our dogs name is Aggie. Unfortunately, she was date-raped by a black dog. She is a golden lab, and all twelve puppies were black. Last week I took Aggie in to the vet for a hysterectomy. I have felt bad ever since. I took away her right to bear future puppies! She was very groggy, and almost passed out on the way home. I can't stand the dog. She is big and gross and very bothersome. But seeing her coming home from the vet, staggering in pain, I felt so bad! I wasn't going to pay the extra $18.00 for the pain meds. But then Ethan made me feel guilty by telling me he would have to think about paying extra for my pain medicine when I am old. So I called and told them to give her the pain meds. Then next day she was her old self again. Crabby, hairy, and barking at any stranger. Tomorrow is the two male cats day to shine at the vet. They are being neutered. Somehow, I don't feel as bad for them. Is it because I hate cats? Or is it because I can't relate to being neutered?

Five Things.....

Hello
I am back to my blog. I had to take a hiatus from it for awhile. I spent like two hours trying to figure out how to put those cute backgrounds on my blog. But, alas, I couldn't do it. I was so frustrated that I have had to take a break. So if any fellow bloggers out there have a few minutes to call me and talk me through it, I would be much obliged. It really would be for you benefit afterall. You won't have to see Blake's soaked picture all of the time. I have been challenged by my friend Angie to do this five things list. So, if you get bored, surf away. Otherwise, here we go.....
5 Things on My List Today:
1. It's Sunday. I love Sundays because there are no lists!
2. I do try to make a nice Sunday dinner. I hope for an invite from mom or aunt Jill!!
3. I take a big breathe and gear up for my eight little beehives awaiting me!
4. I usually coerce my family to take a walk around the loop.
5. Every single Sunday night we go out to my mom's house for "happy hour". My brother and his family go also. We visit, have treats, and usually watch a "Murder She Wrote". It's tradition!

5 Favorite Snacks
1. Wheat Thins- like by the box!
2. licorice
3. oreos with peanut butter and milk
4. chocolate covered cinammon bears
5. Michelle Fowers pumpkin bread

5 Things I would do if I had a billion dollars
1. Fly my whole family to Africa and spend the summer doing medical aid
2. Build a swimming pool in my back yard. Complete with trees, barbeque area, the whole shebang.
3. Have it, and enjoy knowing I have tons and tons of money!!
4. Buy anything I wanted from Athleta magazine
5. Buy a beach house in Mexico or Hawaii and go EVERY year with my family.

5 Bad Habits
1. Eating too much!!
2. Picking my cuticles until they bleed.
3. Germ freekazoid!
4. Being moody
5. I tend to be a little too over-protective of my children

5 Places I have lived
1. Hyde Park -in a shack with snakes and huge spiders. It used to be a shed where cattle walked through!
2. Hyde Park- we built our first house there. I still love that house!
3. Smithfield
4. Lehi-
5. North Logan

5 Jobs I have had
1. Queen raspberry picker. My family had fifteen acres of raspberries. They wanted to teach their children to work. It was oh, so fun!!
2. Logan Valley Nursing and Rehab. I worked at this job for 8 hours. I never went back. It was traumatic!
3. Dr. Odell at the budge clinic
4. Treehouse pediatrics- current job. Blake doesnt' really call my four hours a week a job. But I do!!

5 Things people don't know about me:
1. I hate these! I dont' want people to know things about me!!
2. When I run, I have to make sure I don't run on the lines of the road. It really throws me off at times. And it is messing up my hip. OCD!
3. I really am SEVERELY computer challenged!
4. When Blake and I were first married, I couldn't even make Campbell's soup.
5. I am pretty much a democrat. At least, I can't stand George Bush.

There you have it. Probably much more information than you wanted!! Now, fellow bloggers, let me hear from you!!!

SUMMER

Well, it's the first day of summer at our house. This picture says it all. What could be better than sitting under an umbrella selling lemonade and cookies? Oh, I long for those younger years! Now I get to enjoy them through my kids. I should have taken a picture of my sunburned arms. Sitting through almost two hours of soccer try-outs fried me today. I wonder why the sun loves to burn me! To all my blog readers, have a great summer! We better enjoy them while we can still remember them!

may is my month

Today was the last day of school. Summer is here! May is my favorite month of the year. It starts with nurses day, then mothers day, and ends with my birthday! I always loved having my birthday in May. The end of school always just sends a buzz in the air. Even at age 35 I get excited about school ending. I get my kids all to myself for two whole months. This year for the month of May, I started with designing a collage. On my collage, I put acceptable gifts for my three special days in May. On my collage I had a new toaster (ours only toasts one side at a time), a new ipod, (I washed one and lost one), and this most favorite new perfume called Daisy. I thought of the collage idea after getting several things that I don't really need. I thought I'd just narrow it down for Blake and the kids. Last year I got several trees. Now, giving a lady a tree is nice and all. But do we as women really get excited about a tree? My apologies if this is on my readers wish-lists. Trees are a needed item. They are a convenient way of getting what is a need, and classifying it as a want. This is not okay with me. Hence, the collage system. I must say, it worked great. I got the perfume, the ipod, and a bonus item, a camera. I also got the most beautiful japaneese maple tree!! Happy summer everybody!!

These are my cutest little beehives. I am missing two for the picture. We had a great activity the other night. We met at the church and made cookies from that way fattening tub of lard that the school sells. Then we made cute tags and put a few in little sacks with ribbon. I then took them up to the temple and we handed them out to patrons as they were leaving their session. It was such a great activity! The patrons were so grateful for them. It really touched the girls. They were so happy to be at the temple. It was one of those activities that just worked out at the last minute. I was going to take them up and wash windows of the cars, but the temple said we can't do that anymore. This was way more fun anyway. I am the lone ranger beehive leader. I was just called as counselor, and my helper works a lot. Blake being in the bishopric makes for chaos. I would think I would get the calling of my dreams. It turns out, I get put where nobody wants. I do love it though. I love these girls just to pieces!! They helped me do a beauty makeover party for Rachael on her birthday. It was a hit. I must say something else to my fellow bloggers. Our ward did not hand out anything for mothers day. I personally, was grateful. I felt no guilt about letting a poor little waif of a flower die in my garage this year. The person in charge, forgot completely. We have had sooo many complaints. So tell me ladies, is this a major big deal? Am I the only one in the world that thinks it's lame? ajd

Well, it's time to gear up for another fun-filled sport mania weekend. I just got Ethan off with the Silers to Pocatello for a lacrosse tournament. I get to leave early in the morning to watch him play. Blake gets to stay home and take Supe to soccer. I have to say I love it. I mean, would I rather be watching a late night movie, sleeping in late, going for a run, then getting a pedicure and shopping? Not on your life! Who would want to do that instead??? Some kind of crazy lunatic for sure. Have a great weekend! ajd

What could be better than an afternoon with cousins? Jenessa and Jacey are Rachael's bestest friends. We are so lucky to live close! Most of the time that is..... I love this shot because it looks like spring in the background. They have such fun together.

I am wondering about back fat. I mean, as I am fastly approaching 35, I am finding out that I can't eat as much as I want. The problem to this scenario is that I still eat what I want. Thus, these rolls of unknown substances commonly called back fat. Why back fat? Why don't we gain metabolism as we age instead of lose it? We lose everything as we age. Hair, memory, teeth, friends, money, etc. etc. But, we gain one important thing......back fat. ajd

Obama vs. Hillary

Okay, so I know this shouldn't be my first blog post. But I can't help but realize that my blog can be where I can vent my views on politics without boring anyone! This recent disaster with the senator renting prostitutes is just baffling to me. I am wondering why we have to be involved so much with our politicians lives. Are they not allowed to make mistakes? I mean, if you are elected an official, do you swear by oath and covenant that you will never do a bad thing again? No wonder, then, that we are stuck with disastrous running mates such as Hillary, Obama, and McCain. I would think we could leave these poor men and women some safety in their personal lives. Granted, the senator was doing something illegal. I'm just all up in arms about our politcal spectrum, or lack there of. I am wanting an honest candidate. One who says, " I am not sure if I can change the economy. It pretty much sucks right now, but I will try. I know we are in a war right now that we should not be in, and I will try to establish peace. I can't gaurantee bringing troups home the day I am put into office, but I will try. So that's it for the day..

This is my first attempt at blogging, and I'm really quite proud. I love reading my friends blogs, and so now I try. I hope you enjoy!