Looking California but Feeling Minnesota...

My first sign of bad things to come should have been when Bono broke his back preparing to rock Rice Eccles Stadium...didn't kick the summer off on a good note.

June flew by with the kids getting out of school and Zach getting his tonsils out the 2nd week of the month. Didn't even phase the kid...I think it was harder on me trying to keep him down and resting.


Mid June, the doo doo hit the fan with 0ur other house. The renters not paying their rent in June and moving out, leaving us a huge mess to clean up and pay for. Seriously, when I don't think it is possible for us to get financially deeper in a hole, it goes deeper. Holes in walls, missing door knobs and destroyed appliances, koolaide footprints on the ceiling, bullet holes in the neighbors house and the carpet...., I don't believe they owned a vacuum and they had daily oil dancing contests in the family room. ..the hits just keep coming. I guess it could have worse....it could have totally been worse....right? Thank goodness for a home depot credit card and all of the hours my husband has put into watching DIY channel and HGTV for the last 10 years. And for some amazing family and friends that pitched in to help us clean up and fix the mess. We are blessed.



2 weeks of back breaking labor, countless hours and about $3000 later, the house is half decent again. Could have used even more work, but we are out of time and money for now. That is going to have to wait while we dig out for a few months. The new people that rented it seem like good people and seem like they want to keep it nice, so hopefully they do. Even better, hopefully they buy it! Pray for them to buy it so I don't have to deal with it ever again.


So here we are facing the rest of the summer completely broke, in credit card debt up to our eyeballs and have the rest of the summer ahead of us to keep the kids entertained, with no money, no vacation, no Lagoon, no back to school shopping, possibly no food :), but that should do us all some good, right? Especially me....

I've got some crazy thing going on with my stomach making me double over in pain every time I move. They tell me I have an ulcer, a hernia and possible diverticulitis...(sp). Gee, I wonder why I have holes burning in my stomach....? :). I've been off work from radio all week and they are recommending that I cut back as much as possible while I get these issues under control....which is kind of making sense, even sick and doubled over in pain, I still feel better then I have in a year energy wise. Crazy how good a little sleep can make you feel. I can tell I've been sleeping like a real human being again. Cut back my hours....get more sleep? Laughable.....

I keep thinking maybe if I drop over dead then the insurance money will get us out of the hole? Even better, I'm hoping for a stray bag of money to drop on my head....then we get the bag of money and the insurance....miracles happen all the time, right :).


Speaking of miracles...I've gotten called on a few grown up, normal hour jobs the last couple of weeks. I was on my way to meet with one of them when I wrecked my car. Just a fender bender, but took some work on both of our cars. This after my brother backed my truck into another car the day before. Thank goodness for good insurance. I feel like that lady in Fried Green Tomatoes...

Maybe I should take the crashing of the car on the way to the grown up job as a sign that wasn't the right place for me to be....., or a sign that this summer hasn't been "my" summer at all.


A good thing in all of these two months of chaos, My dad and Auntie A got to come up from Arizona and visited us for a week. It was so nice to see them. It makes me miss him more when I get to see him though. I just get use to seeing his face and then he is gone again....and so it goes.


After the summer we've had so far, thank goodness fall is almost here....and it is almost football season... :) I'm a officially now a fall girl!

Another Rainy Spring...It isn't helping my mood at all!

I miss living in a Utah where we get all of our water for summer during the winter and not the spring... I remember growing up and having summer start by the end of May...today, May 24th it is 37 degrees and we have a heavy snow mix coming down. On the days it hits 65-70 we feel like we are living in Phoenix in August...

I'm ready for sunshine....

And adding to my sun deprived depression, Bono broke his back and had to have emergency surgery so my boys won't be here next week.

:(

I sure hope they do come back and not just scratch the Salt Lake stop from their tour. I was getting so excited for the show and thought it must be a cruel joke when KSL broke with the news Friday am that the show was postponed. Bono is in the hospial in Germany. Get well soon Paul and please please don't leave Salt Lake out!

I need some sunshine...

I've been sick with some kind of goupy head cold/flu virus thing since Monday last week. Still have the cough and headache, but my voice is back, sort of. I skipped radio work Thursday and Friday because I couldn't talk...well, I could, you just couldn't understand me for all the mucus in my throat and nose...gross I know.

It did make me realize one thing....2 extra hrs of sleep in the morning makes a huge difference in a persons well being. I felt better even though I was sick.

Makes me think it is high time to throw in the "radio" towel. I've known that for a while, quite a while...., heck I knew that before I even started....
I just thought that this one might be different...it might be the one I've been wanting/waiting to do. I've now found out, IT ISN'T and it is never going to be. That is what I get for thinking.

But what else to do...something else always comes up right?

I'm Soooo Tired...

Seriously, I'm so tired. Don't know why I'm typing other then I realize I haven't posted since July, so I guess I'm due. We've almost gone a whole football season and not one football post....its been a better season then I expected it to be. Last week blew, but other then that, not too bad at all. Last home game tomorrow and we're not going...Chris couldn't get off work and taking the kids by myself doesn't sound all that fun. Maybe I'll see if Grandpa wants to come over and watch them earlier and I'll go to the game on my own...I think we still have 1 ticket that Ray hasn't sold yet...he's better then KSL.com.

Lets see, what's happened since July?

School started, Zach's in Kindergarten and his teacher loves him so much she got emotional when telling Chris about how much she loves him...boy has her wrapped too...seriously that kid knows how to work people. Either going to be a saint or criminal...I sure hope he chooses option 1 :) How could anyone not love that kid. He makes my heart warm and I wish I could take credit for it, but I can't. He just came prepackaged that way from Heavenly Father.

Tay and Steph are big girls and so smart. Steph told me the other day that no boys in her class have a crush on her...I told her that they do, she just doesn't know it. I also told her that if she is smart, she won't worry about boys as that is a total waste of time....just be friends with them and if she is smart she'll be the nice, kind, sunny, funny cute girl that she naturally is and everything will work out just fine. I'll just pray that Heavenly Father sends her a boy just like her father but not until she is 23. Taysia on the otherhand can't walk into a room without everyone following her around...boys included. Hopefully not a sign of things to come. We were watching the CMA's the other night and as Keith Urban came on, she said "he's cute!" Seriously, she is in 2nd grade. Although I remember being in 2nd grade and loving Andy Gibb and Donny Osmond and Lynn Swann and Sugar Ray Leonard...she is just like me but with her Father's charisma and that scares me even more....

We got a dog. Max Oaken Smith..a 3 yr old Dandie Dinmont mix from the Humane Society. Seems like a pretty good dog...kind of acts like a little old man sometimes. Reminds me a ton of Sissy, Grandma and Grandpa Z's dog from my childhood.

I won free tickets off of Facebook to go see U2 in Las Vegas. On the way down the car broke down outside of Beaver on I-15. Ray called Mark Emery and told him if he came and picked me up he'd buy him a ticket to see the show...and he did. It was so fun and an amazing concert. I got the flu or something when I got home...And we got a new car.

We got a new car just like our old car...just a 2010 model instead of a 1997 model. We were due, but I hate having a car payment again...yuck! But it does have blue tooth and XM and those are my favorite new toys! Welcome to the 21st century :)

Chris got put into the Bishopric...2nd Counselor...that has been interesting and we are being blessed. We miss him and sometimes its hard for me to not be jealous of the time he gives there that I wish he was giving here, but then I remember that God was gracious enough to share him with me, I need to share him with others. He never ceases to amaze me with what a good man he is, so I guess I should share. We'll be married 14 years next week, seems like forever and a brief second all at the same time. I'm hoping we can go away for the weekend and just snug and be for a few days, no work, no school, no church, just us, that would be nice....I can't remember or imagine my life without him in it.

Sick sick and more sick...seriously with 3 kids in school now, someone is always sick and it seems like a never ending cycle. So far nothing more serious then a few fevers, a little throw up and a couple of runny noses. Let there be Hand Sanitizer!

It's Thanksgiving next week...its been quite a fall and a year to be thankful for. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything. It is supposed to snow all weekend...great fun! :)

Should Our Girls be Princesses?

So I read this story this morning and it got me to thinking....
Is it really that bad to aspire to be a princess? It is the fad of late and I can't really remember it being that big of a deal when I was little, but my girls loved it while they were in that stage and I loved it with them. Yes, it is a harsh reality check when they realize that they are not or ever really going to become a "real" princess, but it doesn't stop me from talking to them about aspiring to have manners, give respect and expect it in return, to think of the betterment of others before ones self, to speak with kindness and love to everyone around you.

This story seems to say that aspiring to live by "princess ideals" is bad...is it really that bad? This story says that princess worship teaches my daughters to be prideful or feel like they are better or above others....I believe it does just the opposite. Have you seen the movie Ella Enchanted or the any of the Princess Diaries movies? All teach the value of valuing ones self, being kind to others and the value of family...all of which are things that I believe should be taught openly more often, not less. Most all of the Princess movies I've been exposed to teaches my girls to be proper and respectful, to think of others before themselves, it teaches them to treat others with kindness and to value their moral standing as the media and the world around them continues to devalue it. I would love for my girls to aspire to be a Mulon or Barbie in any one of her princess roles of late...the princess and pauper or the 12 dancing princesses....all of those roles teach inner moral and family value that I can only hope that my girls strive to stand up for. So I say let the Princess trend reign....heaven forbid we end up with a generation of girls that have manners, respect and courage to do the right thing and expect that doing good with bring good to them....Click on the link below to check out the story and decide for yourself.
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Auntie has a date with a future Appostle...and thank heaven for non Utah boys?

Did some fireworks with the kids last night...I'm not much for fire. I like my afro and don't want to end up like Michael Jackson. Talked to Aunties date last night via yahoo chat. Seems like a nice guy and oddly perfect for her....the one that said their was no such thing out there. My husband can be an abrupt jerk sometimes when he speaks, but looks like this time it was productive. Had he not done so, she wouldn't have got on the stick and started looking again....this guy is not from Utah so I'm sure that is why he is decent....ouch!! Did I just say that...I mean he seems like a decent guy who grew up in Oregon and has lived in Seattle for the last several years. He has been in Utah for the last 5 years or so and is a computer geek who works for the LDS church in their IT dept. Been divorced for a year, has 4 older kids and loves the Lord of the Rings movies, live music and to travel, he's not much for sports and likes big boobs and isn't opposed to brown girls and HE IS NOT GAY!!! Looked thru all of his pics and he has one that seriously looks like he's already an Appostle.....suit, tie, serious yet kind look....nice lookin guy but not over attractive which is perfect...he's big like a teddy bear with a kind smile....

Sounds like an Auntie match made in heaven....the only negative I've seen from him so far is he is a "Why B U " graduate, but to his credit, he did his graduate work at Penn State...maybe that counteracts the "YBU" thing...kind of like having a diet coke with a snickers bar!!

They were going out at noon today for the first time and I pray it goes well, because if it doesn't she may never try again....

But holy cow...I went on the singles site to search thru her matches with her...OMG I'm so glad I'm married and hopefully will never have to do that!! EVER!!!!! AHHH you should have seen some of those guys!! Either "Rico Suave" or 65 trying to pretend they were 45....and I'm sure all looking for somekind of Good Things Utah stereotype...(have you noticed that show never has any brown people unless they are cooking or cleaning something...just sayin' ) Mormon stereotypical mommie / 20 yr old blonde big haired Barbie doll....scary is all I can say and I love my husband, (a Wyoming boy might I add!)

I love you sweetheart and I am so grateful for you and your non-utah mormon heritage! I'm so glad you love me for me and my non-utah barbie heritage (too much soul, bootie and afro for the stereotypical Utah girl...guess GTU will have to wait!!....and my keen sense of humor along with my love of football, the DIY network and Norm Abrams I'm sure has a little to do with the reason you are still around (not like any other male figure in my life) Again like the Diet Coke and Snickers....my bootie counters the my obvious mental/daddy issues!

Love you honey! And good luck Auntie and future appostle!! May you have a love match and I'll see you

Thanks to the Colossus, I may never be a Grandma!!!

Summer time is here, and I have the sun burn to prove it... :0 I never burned when I was little, I don't know why I do now...must be "old" skin :)

I've been trying to get the kids out to the pool a couple of times a week, just so their summer isn't totally filled with playing Wii and watching Disney Channel 24/7. It is supposed to be 100 degrees this weekend. I love the heat, but I also love the central A/C when I'm done with it too :)

So far we haven't done much more then yard work and the neighborhood pool. We did get to go to Lagoon over the 4th of July. It was actually, really fun. Kids are finally big/old enough to go on most all of the rides. Steph's more like me, a little cautious, but loves riding once she gets the courage to do it once she realizes that she was scared of nothing and goes again.....Tay has no fear at all, will do anything, ride anything....that scares me to death. I'm so afraid of her teen years...I hope I can install a little bit of fear into her by then or else, I may have lots of gray hair. Zach is still too small for a couple rides, but I don't think he is quite ready for those yet anyway. He was big enough to ride the Colossus and went on it with me without blinking an eye until we were heading up that first hill and I think he was ready to jump out...we went and I screamed louder then he did.....and I held on to him as best I could the whole time and kept laughing and talking to him to hopefully help him feel better about the whole thing...but I could tell he was scared to death......when the ride stopped at the bottom before it takes you back to the loading dock, the first thing he said was ... "Is it over?" and I said, "Yes son, wasn't that SO FUN!! (you know, trying to sell it to him a bit...) And he replied by saying again, "Is it over, are you sure we don't have to go again...." and I said, "Yes son, it is over, I promise it won't make us go again unless you want to...do you want to go again? I'll go again with you if you want (still desperately trying to sell it and not feel horrible for letting him go) ..... Just then the ride started moving again to take us back to the loading dock and I think he nearly passed out and turned totally white and looked at me like and screamed "Mom!.... you said we didn't have to go again!!" And hugged him as best I could and said, "No son, we are not going again, I promise, it is just taking us to drop us off, I promise.... I don't think he was relieved until we stopped the the harness popped up..... Later that evening as we were riding the sky ride and enjoying the fireworks from the Centerville bench, I asked if he wanted to try the Colossus again (just teasing him) and he said NO WAY...NOT EVER!! And I said, "Oh son,.... never say never....I bet when you get older you are going to have a girlfriend say... (in my best little girl friend voice) "...Oh Zachy....I love the Colossus.... lets go on that one first..." and you'll go, son, because you like her.... He then replied by saying, "Mommy, I'm never going to have Girlfriend!" That scared me a bit, so I said, "Of course you will, honey... otherwise you won't be able to get married and have babies and be a Daddy....and I won't get to be a Grammy..... Then he shot me the same look of fear that he did after that first stop on the Colossus.... And so I said, "Its okay sweetheart...you don't have to have a girlfriend for a long, long time if you don't want to and you don't have to ride the Colossus if you don't want to... I will always love you ..... even if you are a CHICKEN BOY!!!! ( he then hit me and said, I'm not a chicken boy Mommy...then hugged me and smiled and looked at me with those blue/green eyes, and said "I love you, Mommy..." And I told him to remember that exact look and use it on said girlfriend someday and he hit me again....and that was that.

So hopefully I haven't only scared my son away from roller coasters but girls too....or maybe that is a good thing :).... He is such a sweet and handsome kid (don't know how that happened, still think they switched him at the hospital) but I digress......

I figure he's going to have no problems with girls regardless of the Colossus fear...in fact, with his tan skin and blue eyes, he really resembles an "A Rod" or "Jeeder"...which really scares me .... I figure I'm going to have to figure out a way to wrap him in barbwire to keep the the girls away ... So, now, on second thought, maybe we need to head back to Lagoon ....

If I could only figure out a way to scare the heck out of Taysia too, and I'll be in good shape! Steph and Tay are both going to be more beautiful then I wish they were....The thing that scares me the most is that they will have beauty, brains and absolutely no inhabition or fear....to go with it....a totally SCARY Combination!!

Maybe I'm just going have to invest in a barb wire company, OR better, lock them all in their rooms till they are 21. Steph is 9 and has boys calling already AHHHHHHH.... I should have thought about this before I married my a handsome husband .... I'm going to need help.... However, with the girls, I'm banking on the fact that their father carries a gun for a living and could make anyone disappear into the West Desert to never be hear from again if he really wanted to... He'll most likely still be in the Bishopric by the time they hit dating age too, that should help scare the boys away, I hope :)

Happy Summer Everyone!! AND Only 7 more weeks till UTE FOOTBALL!!! I can't WAIT!!

Did God pick Utah up and move it to Seattle without telling us?

Seriously, enough rain already. I'm beginning to think I should start considering an Ark in the backyard instead of trees and bushes. We're trying to stain the concrete on our new patio (that thank goodness was done at the end of May when there was still sun). We got the patio cover up between storms, but the stain cannot happen until it is dry....trees and bushes cannot happen until it is dry....so back yard mud pit will not go away ....until it is dry ;)

Onto a different topic...I over came the "Hog-a-virus" last week, but boy...it kicked my behind for a couple of days. I've just been praying that the kids don't get it, but I think Tay may have already had a really mild version and seems to be fine now..same with Christopher. Steph complained of a bit of a sore throat yesterday, but so far nothing major and Zach felt warm last night before he went to bed and I heard a couple of coughs overnight. He still wasn't up yet this morning when I checked in...ahhh...no more flu.
We got a note from the school yesterday saying it was confirmed in at least 1 student at the school and we could send our kids to school or not, which ever we want. I figure if we're gonna get it, we're gonna get it, might as well get it out of the way and hope for a vaccination next season ;) I'm supposed to go on a field trip tomorrow with Tay's class. We're going to the Tree House museum in Ogden, such a fun trip...I'm excited, but I sure hope I don't have sick kids. I'm also supposed to watch my friends kids today, who are so cute!!! Had them yesterday and they are really good kids, but I don't want to get them sick either....I hate the FLU!!! I'm done, done, done with it!

ASLA Annual Meeting and DC Trip done, PTA Carnival done, Dance Class, Baseball, Softball, done, done, done, Swine Flu, hopefully done, backyard, almost done, Father's day BBQ this weekend and Chris asked for a new garbage can lid and garbage bags for his workshop....Priceless!! I love my husband and I guess he did get a patio cover to BBQ under, so that was a pretty good present. BBQ Rain, Shine, Snow, nothing will ever stop him again BWHAHAHAAH!!

I'm definitely ready for some sunshine and a break!! Please, summer come back.... I like living in the desert, if I wanted to live in Seattle, I'd move there...I don't!! Bring me some 104 degrees with scorching sun, bring on the wildfire warnings and firework restrictions...I'm ready!! Although, the bench in Bountiful is so GREEN..it is gorgeous, so I guess there is an upside to so much rain ;)