Busy Weekends

Hi!! The last couple of weeks have been completely insane! My boss signed me up for a tax class that I started last week! It's twice a week and it's kicking my butt. It's interesting and not necessarily hard, but on top of work deadlines and being a mommy and a wife, I am finding that I have NO time. To make matters more interesting, Ethan and Chase were both sick last week which meant I lost TWO days of work. So.... I'm feeling the pressure. Luckily my fabulous hubby does not have to work at his second job this week, so I've been able to catch up on some things. I'm currently trying to work through a mountainous amount of laundry.

Despite the craziness of my week, our weekends have been really fun. Two weeks ago we went to Logan for Doug's grandpa's 88th birthday party. Doug was not able to go with me, so it was just me and the kids. We stayed with My father-in-law and his wife Gloria, whom I love. Actually, everyone loves her. It's hard not to. Anyway, we stayed the night with them after a wonderful birthday dinner that Gloria put together for Doug's grandpa. On Saturday morning, my father-in-law made us a huge pancake breakfast, even breaking out the chocolate chips for the kids. It was really sweet of them.

Gloria, Grandpa Paul and Carter lighting birthday candles.

On Sunday of that weekend, my former aunt Linda invited us up to her house in Park City for a family BBQ. Now, let me quickly explain my relationship with Linda. She is my deceased uncle's ex-wife. (They were divorced long before he passed away.) She was remarried about 12 years ago to a nice doctor named Larry. They live in Baltimore, Maryland in an incredibly beautiful home. About 3 years ago they bought a home in Park City because two of her sons live out here and she wanted to be closer to them, plus Larry loves Park City because he loves to ski. What is cool about Larry and Linda is that they had my family, my brother's and sister's families, my cousin Jennifer's family and my grandma and my aunt Sandy all up to their house for this BBQ. All of these people are family of my deceased uncle. How weird would that be for me if I were in Larry's shoes? Very weird, but he is extremely gracious and they are both amazingly generous.

So, we went up to their gorgeous home in Park City, where they not only have a huge house with game room and playground but they also have a little putting green. My kids were in heaven and my husband got to follow football games on the big screen TVs while playing pool and practicing his putting skills.

Kids playing on playground at Linda's house

Mckenzie on the putting green

After an incredibly busy week last week, we took the kids on a much anticipated trip to Lagoon. I hate going in the summer, so we wait till the fall. It was a beautiful day, it didn't get very hot at all! The kids hit all the kiddie rides and then Mckenzie and Chase shocked us by going on several of the roller coasters. Their favorite was the Wild Mouse which makes me cringe just thinking about it. I think we went on almost everything except for Wicked and the Fire Dragon.... not because we didn't want to.

My dad and I got in line for Wicked. The line moved very fast and just as we were almost to the top of the stairs, the line stopped for about 15 minutes. Then someone came down and told us that the ride was experiencing electrical problems and was shutting down for a little while.

So we headed over to the Fire Dragon and didn't have to wait long at all. We get up to the gates and the coaster comes in. But in the seat where my dad was going to sit was a man and a woman, the woman looked like she was dead. I was a little freaked out because Mckenzie was with us and I didn't want her to see that. But it turns out the woman just passed out, apparently she was anorexic. However, the ride had to be shut down while they got her evaluated and off the ride and then park managers had to come in and do a mandatory saftey check of the ride, so we weren't able to go on that one either. For whatever reason, my dad and I were apparently being protected from something! So we gave up on the roller coasters and went back to the kiddie rides.



We've had really fun weekends! And there are more to come! This weekend we're going to stay with my grandma and the next weekend my cousin is getting married and the weekend after that is our TENTH anniversary. I'm so excited!

Tag

My friend Joy tagged me, so here it is!

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Planning my wedding
2. Buying a new car
3. Working as a housekeeper for a vacation rental company
4. Living in Jackson, WY
5. Making out with Doug every spare minute I had

Five things on my to do list today:
1. Do laundry
2. Buy present for my niece (who is 3 today)
3. Take Mckenzie to dance class
4. Clean
5. Go to my niece's birthday party

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Bear claws
2. Pringles
3. Peanut M&Ms
4. Popcorn
5. Chips and salsa

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Get myself out of debt
2. Buy a house
3. Set up college funds for my kids and my nieces and nephew
4. Get my siblings out of debt
5. Help my parents and in-laws with whatever they needed

Five places I've lived:
1. Jackson, WY
2. Driggs, ID
3. Firth, ID
4. Orem, UT
5. Layton, UT

Five jobs I've had:
1. National Elk Refuge Sleigh Rides
2. Mini-Mart in Jackson, WY
3. Typewell Transcriber for UVSC and USU
4. Diamond Peak Construction
5. J&A Accounting

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog

Five People I'm tagging:

1. Brooke Babcock
2. Mindy Ige
3. Becca Hamblin
4. Jenn Fager
5. Neika Boulter

My Students of the Week!!

We are the lucky parents of not one, but TWO students of the week! Ethan and Chase were both chosen as Students of the Week at Windsor. Ethan has been Student of the Week every year since we moved to this school when he was in first grade, but this is the first time that Chase has been chosen, so we're so happy for both of them. When Chase was telling his Nanna and Papa about it last night, he told them that he got it because he was smart and had "unusually good" behavior! They both work really hard and try their best to be good examples. Chase is always the first one to do his homework and often does it without being asked. Ethan is the same way.

We celebrated last night with ice cream sundaes. I'm so very proud of my boys!

Adventure Day

Occasionally we like to have what our family calls an Adventure Day!
This past weekend we had Regional Conference and we decided to use the opportunity to spend the whole day together as a family.
A couple weeks ago, the kids and I took a drive up to Heber. On our way we passed Deer Creek Reservoir. The kids begged me to stop so they could go swimming on the beaches but we didn't have time, so we decided that Rainbow Bay would be the first stop on our adventure. The weather was perfect for swimming and the water was warm. The kids had a blast.

Here are the kids in the water. Isn't the view behind them gorgeous?

Here is Doug. I think he was meditating. He's not a big fan of the water so he just hung out and relaxed in the sun. The poor guy deserves it. He works too hard.

Ahhhhh. Aren't we cute. (Or something?)

We have a fabulous hometeacher, who is also our neighbor and a member of our bishopric. He told Doug about Squaw peak and some cool campgrounds up there. So after swimming we loaded up the kids and headed up this extremely winding, narrow road that opened up to this incredible view of Utah Valley. It was absolutely gorgeous.
It scared the crap out of Ethan. He's not big on heights.
(No, my children refused to get dressed after swimming, that's why their all half naked.)

Here's a view of our neighborhood.

Up near Squaw Peak are two awesome and very secluded campgrounds. We stopped to explore the Hope Campground which is really nice. We decided to roast marshmallows and have a brief family home evening about being grateful for our surroundings.
(there's a great story in this month's Ensign about that.)
After we filled up on melted chocolate and charred marshmallows we went exploring. The kids took me on an Indiana Jones style hike... It was crazy!

We had the best Adventure Day ever!!

Where I stand

Well, as most everyone knows, I'm one of the most opinionated people in the world. Lately I have been soooooooooooooo disappointed in the political candidates after a week of hearing speeches at the Republican Convention, I have been inspired to take a stand.

I was not happy to hear about the Republican VP nomination. I was almost as disappointed about Palin as I was when I heard about Biden. However, after researching Sarah Palin I have come to respect her and I will vote for McCain/Palin with a clear conscience.

Recently, I my political views have leaned more toward independant. I have been so discouraged with Bush and have lost a lot of faith in the Republican party. But McCain's speech inspired me to stop complaining and start DOING something. So, I'm starting here by asserting my view and hopefully beginning conversations with others to encourage them to vote.

I do not believe that Obama is what is best for our country. When you take away his speech writers, his teleprompters, his make up and his staff what you get is a sad man, who can't put his hand on his heart during the Pledge of Allegience in respect of the men and women who died for his freedom, who basically hopes to be elected based on the color of his skin. I am not racist. I would vote for him if he stood for something. But he has done very little for America and he is married to a woman who has done even less.

Gloria Steinem, a pioneer in the feminist movement, has said that Palin is the wrong womanwith the wrong message for the VP job and says that Palin should just stay home with her kids. I don't agree with everything Palin stands for, but I completely respect her because she stands for something! She's proud to be a member of the NRA, she's proud enough of her political party to blow the whistle on corruption, and she's secure enough in her family relationships to have her pregnant teenage daughter stand at her side.

Many people keep saying the McCain isn't enough of a Maverick to oppose the extreme Right Wing and the splintered Republican party. I say he is. I don't agree with everything McCain stands for, but again, he stands for something! He may not be strong in his knowledge of the economy but I believe that he's been around long enough to accept the ideas and seek out the knowledge of others who do. He has been around long enough to have contributed to America. At the very least, he has fought for our country and sacrificed in ways that Obama could never fathom. As McCain said, he's been an imperfect servant for many years, but a servant nonetheless. McCain is also married to a woman who has done more for people from other nations as anyone I've ever seen.

So here it is. Now you know who I'm voting for. As I always say, you may not like me or my views but you will ALWAYS KNOW WHERE I STAND.

More to come.....

Gratitude

I have just visited my friend, Teri's blog and she has listed things that she is grateful for. It has inspired me to do the same.

I've been stuck in a rut lately. I struggle a lot with depression and trying to stay a step ahead of needing to be institutionalized.... But lately, I've had to play the game of talking myself into getting out of bed in the morning more often than I'd like to. So, I'm determined to snap out of it!! I think the best way to do that is to look at what I have and recognize who it all comes from.

Of course, I have a beautiful family. My kids are smart and entertaining but most importantly, they are good!! I just got an email from Chase's teacher that said he is always on task, he does what he is told and he is one of her best helpers!! I love that about him. Carter's primary teacher told me how reverent he has been over the last few weeks which is a HUGE thing for Carter. I am so happy that his teacher told me that. When I praised Carter for his good behavior, his response was that he was in Heavenly Father's house and that's just how we act there. I love it!! I also love that it's so important to all of my kids to be good. I get reports of who in their classes had to go to time out or had to move their behavior card to another color and I'm so grateful that it's important to my kids to be on their best behavior at school and at church.

I am extremely grateful for a husband who is willing to work TWO jobs to support his family. It is not fun at all for either of us, but he does it cheerfully and even though selling electronics at Best Buy isn't glamorous, he does it so well that he's winning awards!! It means a lot to me that he not only works hard and takes pride in his REAL job at Henry-Schein but he also takes pride in a part time job. It's a great example to my kids that they have a dad with that much integrity and such an awesome work ethic. It can't be fun to work over 70 hours in a week. But he does it and still manages to come home and be an amazing dad and husband.

I am also grateful for being able to live in a wonderful neighborhood. I remember when that little girl was killed in Salt Lake by her neighbor and I freaked out a little that something like that could happen. Then I looked around me and realized that my kids couldn't be safer!! We are surrounded by people who we love and who love my children as if they were their own. My immediate neighbors have taken on the responsibility of being surrogate grandparents to my kids. My kids just go over there to hang out all the time. I went over there on Friday night to get Mckenzie and Carter who were jumping on the Oldroyd's trampoline (apparently it's better than ours) and the Oldroyd's had friends from out of town there visiting. I couldn't believe that they would let me kids hang out there while they had company but they just laughed and said they enjoyed being grandma and grandpa to my kids. How cool is that? How lucky we are!!

I am blessed with lots of things that I mostly don't need, like a closet full of shoes, and I am blessed with people who I do need, like my crazy family and wonderful friends. I forget to thank God for what I have so I'm writing all of this as a reminder that I do need to thank him as often as I can.

Well, I've gone on and on but I think I've hit the most important parts.