Christmas happenings

And now, a report on Christmas. We had a very nice Christmas despite my not having the 23rd to shop for Scott's presents. I procrastinated once again and left a lot till the last minute and then had to drop things (Christmas cookies, cards in the mail, etc) as other emergencies came up (see below).

Scott bought me a beautiful right hand ring and a Cricut scrapbooking machine and some other wonderful little things. He got a leatherman tool and a duck blind. On Christmas Eve we opened our traditional Christmas pajamas and watched a Disney movie - "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes". Scott has been on a Disney movie kick and we've been buying these old (non-cartoon) Disney movies from the seventies.

Christmas day after sleeping in, having hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls and opening presents, we headed to Payson where we spent the rest of the day with Scott's parents and his brother, Jeff and his wife Chantiel. It was a really nice, relaxing afternoon and I enjoyed the day a lot.

The day after Christmas was spent returning the duck blind for the one he really wanted (since I just bought the first one I saw as a demonstration/place holder of what I was giving him) and ran some other errands. We went to see "Seven Pounds" with Will Smith and then had dinner at Outback with some friends.

Saturday was the Dalton family Christmas party. We gathered at my parents house for soup and salad (thank you Bryan for making that salad - it is soooooo good, I still think about it). Rachel and Spencer were in town for the weekend and we were just sad to not have Mary and Ryan and their kiddos from Texas! Maybe next year we'll get everyone.

I have this week off and I'm sad to see that it is already half over. Only four more days until I get back to normal life! Only four more days to send my Christmas cards (If I get around to it) finish all that backlog of laundry I was going to do, and take down the Christmas decorations. Maybe those can wait another week!

Hope you all had a great Christmas too and have a fun New Year's night tonight.

Touring the Women's Center

On December 23rd Scott and I got to tour the women's center at the new Intermountain Medical Center hospital (is that the right name? I just call it the new IHC hospital on 54th and State). Unfortunately, it wasn't a planned tour.

I woke up at 4am the morning of the 23rd with sever back pain on my left side, just below my ribs-around my natural waistline. I wasn't sure but figured they were braxton hicks contractions and since I had read that changing positions helps I began pacing the living room. I didn't want to wake Scott up because I figured the pain would go away. The weird thing though was that the pain didn't come and go as I thought a contraction should. It was just sustained pain, sometimes bad enough to literally take my breath away! Well, after pacing and sitting I thought I'd try a warm bath. That helped a bit but I was freezing cold and couldn't get warm even in the tub. Next try was to turn up the heat and sit on the heater under a blanket to at least get back warm again. Scott found me there and convinced me to try the heating pad in bed. At about 6 I threw up and then fell blissfully to sleep!

The next morning the pain was gone but I was very sick to my stomach. At 11:35 I started getting contraction every ten minutes accompanied by at least nausea and more often, vomiting. After 30 minutes we called the Dr.'s office and left a message and then after an hour Scott convinced me that we should at least head over to the Dr.'s office. I couldn't believe how regular those contractions were. I could watch the clock and with a 1 minute margin of error, there would be a contraction and sickness!

On our way to the Dr.'s office the nurse called and directed us to the hospital. They checked us in, put on the heart monitor and contraction monitor and set up an IV so I could have two bags of fluid. I was apparently very dehydrated from all the throwing up. My urine sample came back with blood and other abnormal minerals so they were thinking bladder infection, which would explain the "kidney" pain in the night. They decided to do a catheter and do some more tests. They came back with kidney stones as the diagnosis!

After 4 hours, two bags of fluids, and Zofran (love that anti-nausea medicine!!!) I felt good, the contractions had stopped and they sent me home. They said that they didn't know if the stones had passed or not but there wasn't much they could do. I was to drink a lot and then suffer through whatever came next.

Christmas Eve morning I had another hour of back pain (another stone passing perhaps?) but this time the pain was a 8.5 rather than a 10. Then on the night of the 26th I had another bad bit of pain but this time it was more like a 7. Regardless, it all seems to have passed, my urine sample today at the Dr. came back normal and so I look to be in the clear.

They say that kidney stones are worse than labor so looks like I am all set, I've had a tour of the hospital, I know how to put on that funny gown with all the snaps and ties, I know how to wrap my monitor cords around my neck like a necklace when I have to visit the restroom, and I have had pain worse than labor! This is going to be a breeze when I go in for real in 9 weeks. (Can you believe I'm in the single digits? I realize that is still over two months but 9 weeks out of 40 seems so close!!!)

Christmas Decorations - Finally

These are terrible pictures from by Blackberry so I may take better pictures and replace these. But, they will at least show for now that I do have my decorations.

Growing Baby Girl

Every time I ask Scott to take a pictures he asks something like "why do you want a picture of this?" "is this something all pregnant ladies do?" " What? You're putting on your blog?" Mostly I'm posting for my sisters who haven't seen me "fat". Remember, I thought I was not that far along but then I got moved 3 weeks so the early pictures show the week I thought I was and then what I really was. The latest picture was taken on Wednesday. I know I'm not that big right now but when I think that I still have 3 months of growing . . . wow!

Out with the Old

Thought I should put this in as a reminder of what we came from! Wow!!! Do I have an awesome husband or what. He sure does beautiful work.

Homey living room

Well, it's here! The furniture came the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Well, all but the consol table that we can pick up at the warehouse on the 13th. The furniture store gave me a delivery window of 11-3. I had decided already to take the day off because I figured that the delivery window would be smack in the middle of the day - isn't it always? Then I figured that they would come at the end of the delivery window so I would sit around waiting all day until they left at 3:30 and then what was I supposed to do - go back to work for an hour?
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So, I got up at 9 and ran to some stores. I needed to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner and pick up a prescription and do some other errands. I was sitting in the Rite Aid waiting area for 30 minutes while they filled my prescription ("we'll have it done in 10 minutes ma'am") looking at my clock and getting worried because it was getting closer and closer to 11:00. Of course, there was no need because what delivery has ever come right at the beginning of the delivery window right?
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At 11:05 I was 100 ft from turning down my street when my husband called to tell me that the delivery truck was at the house and had been since 10:55! Come on - really? So I rushed down the street and apologized profusely and by noon, I had a living room! :) I suppose I could have gone back to work but hey, I had the day off. So instead I spent the time cleaning all the glass doors and shelves, did my grocery shopping and made jello and pies. So domestic.
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The dogs love to sit on the back of the couch cushions and look out the window. It's pretty darn cute. I love to sit on the couch and read my book. And the best part is that we have lights in the buffet so we turn on those and the lights over the fireplace and turn off the overhead lights and it's so homey! I feel like I need a fire and some hot chocolate. Can't wait for my visiting teachers or home teachers to come this month.

Oh, the paint cans and stuff on the floor in the bottom picture are trying to keep the rug from curling - hate that! It seems to have worked.

Tag you're it

This is a fun tag! I got this from my sister. Just copy and paste the entire list below and put the ones you have done/experienced in bold. Hopefully, your list will have a little more bold than mine!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (does Rock Band count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain-King's Peak. It nearly killed me!
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - in Grandpa's pool when we were little
27. Run a Marathon (I ran in a marathon - but it was only a 5K at the end)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class - karate in college
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I tried once and passed out. Mary, we're not pathetic, just sensitive!)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - I have my cabbage patch kid still
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - a pinky toe hardly counts but it is a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - I'm sure I've been on Scott's when he's been speeding
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House - (does outside the gates count? I suppose not)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - I've talked to Eddy and Jim from BNL - actually have a picture of me and Rachel and Jim in Las Vegas.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby - (ask me again in three months)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

Progress

Furniture has been ordered . . . Wahoo! Am I giving away the surprise by posting pictures of some samples?

Heartsick

I wrote this post in Word and read it, and re-read it, and re-read it. I hate to accidentally offend someone but thought, "hey, it's my blog", I can write what I feel. I hope that you read it (sorry, it's long) in the spirit it was meant.
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I read a blog post from a friend today that made me feel sad. It was an issue that troubled her and prompted her to write. I have way too much going through my head to comment shortly on her blog so I thought that I’d comment on mine and perhaps she may read my response.

Russell M. Nelson wrote an article in the October Ensign titled “Abortion: An Assault on the Defenseless”. After reading this article, she writes to her daughter the following:

“I hope you are never in a situation to even have to question an abortion. I hope you never have an abusive partner. I hope you never face having a child with severe abnormalities. I hope you don't have to go through fertility treatments that accidentally leave you with more embryos than your body can handle. I hope you never face poverty so severe you have to choose between having another child or being able to feed the ones you've already got. I hope you don't get pregnant at 48 after your husband’s vasectomy doesn't take (oops says the doctor). I hope you never find out you are expecting soon after you find out your husband has been sexually abusing your kids.

But the truth is, I've known women in all of these situations and whether they chose to have an abortion or not (and some of them didn't), I stand 100 percent behind the idea that they needed that option to be available. The fact that an apostle is questioning that right is deeply upsetting to me. . . What happens in your and my uterus is our own business and nothing about his opinions would be helpful in a very difficult situation.”

I agree that women should have this option available. I agree that they are still able to choose. I heartily agree that I hope neither of our daughters ever have to wrestle with this decision. However, I believe that the counsel from the Church is that we should not make this choice so lightly. I don’t think that the examples mentioned above are totally out of our control. They aren’t necessarily some bad thing given to us by happenstance. Sometimes, the consequences of earlier choices leave us with an abusive partner or a multiple birth pregnancy or an unexpected baby at 48. Conversely, things do happen to us that aren’t the result of a choice we made. In either case, there are always choices to be made afterwards. Abortion is not the only one. We can always choose to leave an abusive spouse or to change our lives to fit in a handicapped child or multiples – we can always choose adoption. The Lord is not taking away our agency when he asks us to please not lightly consider abortion.
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In my opinion, women choose abortion for two reasons. Either, to make their life easier or because they think the life of the child would be less than perfect. In the first case, I agree 100% with Elder Nelson that I don’t have the right to put my ease above the life of a child when I did chose to conceive them. Where is the accountability for the choice that was made to create the child? A vasectomy gone wrong may not seem a choice but we could have chosen a different or a second method of birth control. An abusive partner may not seem our choice but we could have chosen to not bring a child into the world with that type of partner through birth control or we could have chosen to leave that situation before the child is born.

In the second case, who are we to decide that we know best whether the life ahead for our child will be good or not? We have been counseled in the scriptures to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6. If we choose abortion, aren’t we telling the Lord that we don’t trust his judgment to send the child to us?

There are always extenuating circumstances. There are always situations that I cannot fathom and we all are able to make our own decisions. I certainly can’t make a decision for anyone else and I don't think that I judge others when they make a decision I wouldn’t as I don't know all their reasons.

As I read the article from Elder Nelson, I was most impressed that he wanted us to be sure we didn’t choose abortion for the wrong reasons – as an escape from things that might make our lives difficult. He said:
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“So it is with people who choose to embark on a journey that leads to parenthood. They have freedom of choice – to begin or not to begin that course. . . Yes, a woman is free to choose what she will do with her body. Whether her choice leads to an astronaut’s mission or to a baby, her choice to begin the journey binds her to the consequences of that choice. She cannot ‘unchoose’ . . . A woman’s choice for her own body does not include the right to deprive her baby of life-and a lifetime of choices that her child would make. As Latter-day Saints, we should stand up for choice – the right choice – not simply for choice as a method”.

I believe with 100% certainty that the words from Elder Nelson in the article are not his “opinion” alone, but that they are the opinion of the Lord. He speaks to us through his apostles and I personally will take the article as not a political attack on women’s choices, but as a plea from a loving Heavenly Father not to make a choice that may detrimentally affect us in our futures through regret and wondering. I think it is a plea from a Father for the lives of his children who with the advent of abortion never get a chance to make a choice.

To my friend, I love you. I hope that you can read my comments with an open heart and without feeling offense that was not meant. I feel strongly in my heart about how I see this issue as I know that you do about how you see the other side. You are tenderhearted and love others and want them to be happy and I am pleased to see that you are on the side of the weak. That shows a Christ-like love that is admirable. Regardless of which of us is “right”, I hope that we both find comfort as we wrestle with this issue and that we each can come to our own conclusion through study and prayer that will leave us with peace in our hearts about what the Lord wants from us and our own families.

Decor

On a total side note from the main point of this blog, we were at a YW Pres. meeting and were giggling that the Pres. wrote on the agenda "Decor" with regard to Young Women in Excellence (YWIE). It was interesting that she didn't write "decorations". Why is it that we n ow use decor in regard to our holiday things? Has this become an art? Normal people decorate but true artists create "decor"?

I went to JoAnn's last night in search of little party favor boxes for YWIE (I found these cute boxes that looked like flip flops - perfect for our "Worth of a Sole" theme). I was happy to find that their fall things were 70% off. I have been following the Joys of Home and Thrifty Decor Chick blogs and wanting to be better at decorating my house for the holidays.

I've not done much decorating yet because I don't have much of a finished house to decorate but I thought that by this time next year my living room would be set up and so I would buy stuff for next year. Of course, once I got it home I had to set it up to see what I thought. I'll have to take it all down Saturday when we touch up paint and do the moldings but it looks nice for now. There are things that I'd add next year since it needs a little height. Maybe next year when a picture lives above, this low "decor" will look nice.

The glass pumpkins were $17.99 and $19.99 regularly so were less than $5.50 and $6.00. I got two garlands for $3 a piece and then a few holiday picks for .60 each. A whole mantel set for less than $35. I feel pleased.

Crafty

I wanted to show you that I can be crafty! Normally, I don't really go in on all the artsy/craftsy home decor but I found this idea on Joys of Home and thought it might be a cute decoration for the baby room. I'm not sure how I'll mount the little plaques on the wall. I was thinking that maybe I'd attach some ribbon behind each one and hang them. We'll see. I think they are pretty cute!

Halloween 2

Is that the name of a movie? Here are a few other photos from the day.

Halloween

Today was dress-up day at work. I was Wendy. I suppose she is wearing a dress but I couldn't find one so I wore shorts and flip-flops and since Wendy basically lives in a circle . . . who really knows?

Pretty floors

Quick post because I have to get home and do my visiting teaching. We spent the weekend at my mom and dad's house because our floor was being sanded and finished. These pictures so do not give it justice!!! Scott is thrilled that we are finished with the project and more so because he didn't have to do it.

pink or blue?

Yesterday was my first ultrasound. What a cool experience! They put some jelly on your stomach, a little machine, and then you can see a little baby on the screen! The sonographer measured the baby's head and told me that it was measuring big! She then did all the other measurements and confirmed that I was a bit farther along than 18 weeks. My new due date is March 4th!!! Three weeks earlier! I am so excited and feel validated. I have been feeling all along that I was just bigger than I should be and I was feeling kicks and pokes earlier than I should be . . . The best is that instead of being 18 weeks and just short of halfway, I am now 21 weeks and into the second half of this pregnancy!
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It was great - Oh, I suppose you want to know pink or blue? I am happy to say that my work friends were all wrong and the Dalton trend has won out - she's a girl! I didn't realize that I wanted a girl so much until we saw that picture and the sonographer said it was a girl and then I felt this huge relief and excitement and a great big smile and tears all at the same time! I turned and asked Scott what he thought and his only comment was that unfortunately, now that I knew the answer to the color question, he couldn't use that as an excuse to keep me from spending lots of money! He emailed in the afternoon "are you still smiling?" it was very cute.
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Wow, it really does seem more real now that I have seen the baby moving around on the screen and I can feel her kicking and I can say "her"! What a cool thing technology brought us with the invention of the ultrasound!

Recinding

OK, I recind Linda's Kreative blogger award. See her comment below. I just want her to know that I did put thought into who I should award this too. I gave it to her and Sammy for a reason and for her to just toss my gift away with the used paper and ribbons . . . fine, never mind!!

Kreativ Blogger

Ah, I've been given an award! My sister passed it along so now I get to share 6 things about me. Hm, this could be difficult. At least they don't have to be things you don't know or embarrasing moments - she just said 6 things.

1-I love spaghetti. I know you probably all know that but probably don't know the extent. I can make it for dinner on Sunday, gorge myself so that I can hardly bare to lay down because of the weight of my stomach (and this is pre-baby belly), and still eat it every night thereafter as a leftover. Though I love my mom's spaghetti recipe best, I will eat it from just about any place, including in the form of Spaghetti O's from Chef Boyardee! If spaghetti can't be found, then some other pasta with meat sauce will do but it is less fulfilling.

2-I learned to really clean a kitchen at BYU. When I get going on my kitchen (I have to admit it is not nearly often enough) out come the Q-Tips, toothbrushes, and toothpicks and I go crazy. I don't get out the dentist's mirror like the RA's used to to check the underside of the dishwasher door but I do get a toothpick and run it around the edges of the faucet and the edges of the metal ring that goes around the sink. I learned from my mom the trick to cleaning out a microwave is to put a damp dishrag in the micro and to heat it for a few seconds - the moisture loosens up all the cooked on stuff and then you can more easily wipe it off.

3-I really want to be a lot of things but I don't spend the time to develop the talent. I would love to have the "runner's high" but I hate running! I really want to have a beautiful garden and enjoy it but I can't get past the fact that I am terrible at actually watering my plants. I think that I will pass on the "runner's high" but next year I would like to become a better gardener. Scott is helping with that by strategically placing sprinklers so that I, hopefully, can at least keep the plants alive!

4-I really want to go and visit the Kennecott copper mine. We went there when we were little with my parents and I remember thinking how cool that great big hole was. The little trucks driving up the sides of the hole looked so small! We have a pictures somewhere of us gathered around/on a big truck tire - we were dwarfed. Well, I want to go again. I still think it will be cool and that it won't end up being one of those experiences where my memory is grander than the real thing.

5-I have a baby in me! I know, that's not news to any of you, but it is still weird, fascinating, exciting and foreign to me. Lately I have been feeling this baby moving around a lot and it makes me smile every time. The idea that there is a little human inside me is just such a miracle - the fact that Heavenly Father made us so that this could happen is just incredible and the fact that it does happen is a miracle. I am so grateful that our little family is going to get bigger even though it will be hard.

6-I don't want to work today. This also isn't really news but as you can tell, since I'm blogging at 2:18 in the afternoon, I'm not very motivated on this Monday afternoon. I really just want to go to Hobby Lobby to find something to decorate my house with and I want my ultrasound on Wednesday to come faster and I want to put on a mumu so that I can have my tummy free from all waistbands. And I want m&ms.

Now I'm supposed to bestow this award upon others - so, I award it to Sammy and Linda because they are so good at keeping up to date on their blogs. I think I maybe am supposed to do 6 but Sarah didn't and so I'm just going to follow suite.

Cute, Cute ideas

I found this site while blog hopping from Katie's site. What a fun blog. Linda - you are going to go crazy with these cute ideas. Makes me wish that I had a finished living room and front porch - I want to go to Hobby Lobby now. Maybe I'll leave work early. Is it really only 1:24?

Spa Day

October 15th has come and gone. To celebrate the completion and mailing of our company tax returns, our tax department had an outing to Bon Losee Academy in Provo.

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At this company, being a department with one male and 5 females, the spa day outweighed the golf day. In all my past jobs the boys have outnumbered the girls and their choice for a day off is always golf!

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For $50 we had a facial, manicure, and pedicure. It was so relaxing. The facial was probably more relaxing than a back massage would have been because they weren't pushing and working sore muscles. Never had a facial before - I'm a fan.

Our boss opted out of the mani-pedi/facial treatment and had a back treatment instead. It was quite fun to hang around and just chit-chat with the girls about silly things like America's Next Top Model and baby names. Very fun day. It was sure hard to have to come back to work today though!

Bellys

OK Mary, you asked for pictures so here you go. This picture is at 15 weeks. Ah, I have a cute little belly!
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This picture is from last night (I'm 17 weeks today). Should I change that much in two weeks? Do I look like I changed that much to you? I feel like every night I am growing and my sides hurt and I'm terribly "full" feeling. Kind of exciting.
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I also have been feeling little movements that I think are the baby moving. I know that people can start to feel the baby as early as 14 weeks but they say that most first time mothers don't realize that it is the baby moving so they pass it off as indigestion or a quick cramp or something.
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For a few weeks I've been feeling pokes. Kind of like a little muscle twitch. I wouldn't explain it as "flutterings" or "butterflys" like some people do, popcorn popping might fits - it feels kind of like a bubble in water that rises up and then pops. Of course, I wasn't sure if I was making it up because I knew that I might feel something. Saturday though, I had my hand on my tummy below my belly button (which has almost gone flat instead of being an inney), and I felt what seemed to be movement both inside and on the outside!
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Today, I've been feeling movement a lot and I am 99% sure this is baby moving not gas! I felt it again with my hand on the outside too. My co-workers were laughing at me because I was smiling so big when I felt it because I just knew for sure that this was that baby saying "hello". It's been a nice day.
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Our first ultrasound is on the 22nd. I'll post something if we have something to announce . . .

JC

(caveat: My apologies if stall talk isn't appropriate but I do have a point, random though it may be)

Does everyone who frequents a restroom continually visit their "favorite stall"? Since I've become pregnant, it has become the first stall that I reach in the row. This is a picture of the floor when I look down. Everytime I see it I think of an upside down "Jc:"

I know it's a stretch, but it makes me think of Jesus Christ. And weird though it may be, I like that several times a day, my mind is brought to my Savior even if it is in such an unexpected way.

We moved office buildings over the weekend and I have found myself today, in this new restroom, missing the Jc: on the floor as a little reminder of who I should think of more often in my dayk. I hope that even though I don't see it anymore, I will still remember that I used to and maybe my mind will turn to him a few more times in the day than it would have otherwise.

Various

I'm in trouble with Linda because I haven't blogged in 9 days. Sorry, I know, I'm breaking my own request of once a week! I have a few posts in mind but I have to get the pictures off my BlackBerry and today I packed up my desk to move to the new building - included in some box somewhere is the cord that connects the BB to the computer. So, you have to wait.

I can report that I was in a golf tournament yesterday at work and played quite well for my standards. We didn't win but I was still pleased with my progress!

What else, I'm feeling really pregnant. I have started showing so random people at work keep looking at me and saying "oh, you're pregnant". At least I look pregnant so people are comfortable assuming that I am - most times you wouldn't make a comment until you are sure, so that must mean I'm looking prego and not just fatter. I feel quite good - the nausea has left and now I just am left to deal with the pain in my lower back/hips/legs from the baby pressing on my spinal cord. Most days it's not too bad but some days, usually after being on my feet a lot, I feel like I'm 80 years old and can barely walk.

We have an ultrasound on the 22nd and I would like to find out whether we are having a boy to be a friend to new cousins Jackson and Kaden, or whether we are having a girl like grandpa wants. We'll see!!! I'm counting the days.

Well, that's all. This seems more like an email than a traditional blog but it will have to do for now. Adios.

Viruses

Well, as you know, viruses have been going around. Fortunately, we haven't gotten any in our bodies but I did get one on my work computer. Apparently it is spread through Instant Messenger. I got a an IM from a co-worker telling me to check out a link butI couldn't get the link to work so I just ignored it. Later others of my co-workers told me that they couldn't open the link that I sent them. I hadn't sent any messages . . .

Seems that our company has a nasty virus and so I had to surrender my laptop this morning when I came into work and have been working on a loaner while they wipe mine clean and (hopefully) get all my personal stuff back from the hard drive - including all the settings (I would hate to loose all the "favorites" that I have for Internet sites) I don't know that I could find them all again. They are mostly work related that I'd have a hard time finding again).

My biggest frustration today has been that the loaner computer has the newest version of Microsoft - Microsoft 2000, I think. It looks different and I can't find a thing. It takes me forever to do something in Excel that used to take a nano-second. The other bad thing is that they are converting the whole company over and I was hanging on tooth and nail to the old version. I think that they are going to convert me without my input! Such a sad day!

Tag . . . you're It

I've been tagged. Here goes.
5 fears, 5 joys, 5 obsessions/collections, 5 surprising facts about you. Tag 5 people.

5 fears:
That I might be having twins (no, please no!)
Falling (I have this reoccurring dream . . . horrible feeling, falling)
Loosing my job and having no way to pay our house payment
Dilated and numbed eyes at the same time(I tend to faint)
Scott dying

5 joys:
My husband
My dogs
Reading
Singing
Chillin' with mom and dad

5 obsessions/collections:
Books
Checking my friends' blogs every day
Weighing myself
Shoes
Spaghetti

5 surprising facts:
I still say Diet Coke is my favorite drink even though I have been "on the wagon" for years
The only bone I've ever broken is my pinky toe
I'm 32! When did that happen? (that fact is surprising to me at least)
I don't like to brush my teeth - I do it. . . (but despite that I've only had 3 cavities)
I hate running. I want to like it - you know, that runners high - but I really, really don't

I tag:
Linda, Barb, Leslie, Samantha, and Linsee

Tomatoes

Linda and I tried our hands at bottling tomatoes last Friday. I have done it once before and I called my mom beforehand for pointers. I found some late season tomatoes and unfortunately, wasn't able to buy as many as I would have liked since he would only sell them for cash and I only had $15 on me. We blanched the tomatoes, skinned them, cut them in quarters and filled the bottles. After a teaspoon of salt, we put them in the pressure cooker. We let it go until the pressure indicator dropped down and opened the lid to find - all the lids were off!
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It dawned on me that I hadn't put the rings on. Mom didn't mention that specifically and I obviously didn't think it through. In fact, when I was putting the pressure cooker lid on, I did wonder at how those lids were going to seal down when they were just kind of floating on top! It's the miracle of the pressure cooker - right? Dummy!
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We thought that we knew what to do now but Linda had to leave shortly so we didn't want to wait for the pressure cooker again. We got out the steamer that Linda used with her sis the week before to do pears. They did the pears without rings so following suit, we put the tomatoes in sans rings and let them go. After 30 minutes, we opened them up to find that some lids sealed but others were off.
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In the end, we determined that rings make sense with all canning processes and we shouldn't just listen to the advice of others when what makes sense to us says otherwise - we are fairly logical girls, but got distracted by tradition. What was that story about cutting the ends of the roast . . .
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In the end, we ran the batch through three times. Scott keeps teasing me about all the work we did so that I could bring home a whopping 3 quarts. I'm sure they are the best tasting tomatoes ever! I can't wait to make spaghetti sauce from them. Next year I'll buy my tomatoes earlier in September and find them cheaper and do a ton - and I'll remember to use the rings!

Groban sings TV

I heard on the radio yesterday morning that there was a medley of TV show theme songs done by Josh Groban at the Emmys. It was pretty funny but mostly, pretty impressive that he could do all of that! Lots of notes to learn and it certainly shows his versatility!

I'm not a huge Groban fan (sorry) but I know that Sarah is so - this is for you!

Welcome to Parenthood

I am really, really mad! I started paying for voluntary short-term disability a few years ago. It didn't cost a lot and thought it would be wise. In August, someone from the insurance company came and presented to us for an hour about this ST disability benefit. It covers a 13 week period at 60% of your salary and kicks in after you have taken 2 weeks of vacation or sick leave. A great deal! After leaving the meeting, we were all talking about how we can take 15 weeks of maternity leave!! On the take home sheet, it lists pregnancy as one of the covered "illnesses". Later, it actually has a big section about pregnancy that states "we see pregnancy as an illness". The representative of the company answered all sorts of questions from pregnant women in the room about this and assured us that pregnancy is covered. I was thrilled. I could take off three months after the baby is born and still get paid enough to cover our bills.
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Well, come to find out yesterday, "pregnancy" doesn't mean "maternity leave". Apparently, there is an exception for maternity leave and the insurance company thinks that you are back to normal after 6 weeks and so, you take 2 weeks vacation and then they pay you for 4 more. Here I thought that we had such a great plan - I was thrilled! And now, someone has decided that after 6 weeks, mommy's and babies don't need more time and she can go back to work.
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I'm not mad that the coverage isn't better (though I wish it were), I'm mad because the representative deliberately withheld this information from us. He kept saying "pregnancy is covered" and I think he knew all the time that he didn't mean maternity leave even though that is what we were asking about. I looked through all the information from this company about ST disability and nowhere does it say that maternity leave has an exception attached to it! I have no patience for deliberately withholding information and misleading people when you know otherwise!!! I had this discussion yesterday with 4 or 5 ladies at work who all were mislead like me and are very disappointed to learn that they have to take time off without pay in order to stay home a little longer. I suppose I'm lucky because I know early on and can save up some money but some of these ladies are delivering in a few weeks and are just now learning that they can't take as much time off as they thought. And, they are going to have to talk all the vacation they have for the entire year and use it, so they hope that the baby doesn't get sick any time after being born, or that they don't want to go on a summer vacation!
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I complained greatly to my HR department yesterday about it. I told them that it's not their fault (they didn't know about it either) but that they need to be very sure in November at open enrollment to tell everyone that maternity leave is limited. It's not fair to let us believe we are getting one thing only to have it be taken away! And if they ever invite that representative back, I want to be there to call him on the carpet!
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So, that was my crappy news yesterday that got me all riled up. Well, that and then the discussion led to how insurance is going from 90/10 coverage to 80/20 as well as adding a high deductible (they were throwing around $2,000). I suppose I have to wait until November to know for sure. If only I could have had this baby in December where there was no deductible and it was 90/10. Crappy, crappy, crappy!!! Welcome to parenthood right? I think I'll ask my doctor to prescribe bed rest for me in January so that I can get that short-term disability benefit that I've been paying for! If I can't get paid to take time off afterwards, maybe I should take it off before!

One more

Since I am adding pictures I've taken that I like, I wanted to add this one taken at girls camp this summer. I'm not really sure why I like it so much, and maybe nobody else will but I really do for some reason.

Taking Credit

I haven't written for awhile and now that I bashed on everyone else for not updating their blogs frequently enough, I figure that I'd better write so that I'm not a hypocrite!

Yesterday I sent some pictures to a friend of her family that I took at the ward youth boating activity a few weeks ago. She was really impressed with them. I wish that I could take credit for them being great but I told her it was the camera and Picasa. Do you all know about Picasa? It is a free, photo-editing software by Google and I use it to lighten up pictures, crop, reduce red eye, sharpen images and straighten photos. I think that it makes my pics look much better. So, I do give credit to the software and my good Nikon D-40, but I am proud of my pictures from the event nonetheless so I'm including a few that I really liked. (caps are below the pics)

This is Logan, the YW 2nd counselor's son

This is Tony, Logan's Dad

This is Penny, our Beehive class President

And this is Liz and Aubrey (I believe they are singing "Defying Gravity" from Wicked)

Pain in the bum

Oh my goodness am I out of shape! I went with the young men and young women from our ward on a boating outing on Saturday. The air was cool but the water was surprisingly refreshing! The other leaders convinced me to try knee boarding on boogie boards. What a fun, fun things that it! I love that you get to ride with 3 or 4 other people and laugh and laugh and laugh! The other great part is that if you biff, there isn't too far of a fall down to the water. On the flip side, your face is much closer to the water so if you accidentally catch the front of the board under the wave, you head face first into the lake and about half the body of water seems to find its way up your nose and down your throat!
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I have found, however, that I must be grossly out of shape. Last weekend I waterskiied and my arms and back were sore but that was all. After the knee boarding, I can barely stand to sit down for all the soreness in my legs and bum! And then, there is still the arm and back soreness too from holding on to the rope. I suppose I need to get out a bit more!

The Grass is Always Greener

Would you look at that - we have grass!!! Our neighbors' property values will now go back up a little closer to what they were last summer when we ripped out the yard! There is still a lot to do to make the flower beds look nice but great progress this week!
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The grass was delivered on Tuesday and unfortunately, after having taken a lot of time off for Labor Day Weekend, I had to work on Tuesday. I got home at 7:30 just in time for Scott and the three godsend neighbors to tell me that I had impeccable timing - they were done! So, now we have a lawn and sprinklers and only have left the small park strip up the West side of the house. We would like to plant a bunch of trees there so maybe we'll go with bark or rock or something else than grass. Who knows.

Labor Day Gun - I mean Fun

Yeah, that's me with an M-15 (or at least that's what my co-worker said it is since an M-16 is illegal to own). Over the last weekend, we didn't go out of town but we wanted our Labor Day weekend to feel like a vacation so we packed our days full of activities.
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On Friday, we headed to Park City and straight to Jordenelle Reservoir for boating. Our friends brought their Sea Doo boat and we played around on the lake for the afternoon. I attempted to water ski and did get up for a bit but some crazy, not nice boaters kept cutting too close to our area for our comfort and so we had to move to another part of the lake. Once I got back into the boat though, I didn't want to get back into the 70 degree water. So, not much skiing but I did have a great time just tooling around in the boat.
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After we got back and showered we headed to the Real Salt Lake game. 2-1 in favor of Real! Good show boys.
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Saturday morning we slept in and then headed to Tooele to shoot guns. Scott has a few hand guns as well as a few shotguns and a rifle. Dan has several guns as well. I told Scott that I don't have a problem with him owning guns but if they are going to be in the house, I want to know how to use them so I won't be afraid of them. I also want him to teach my kids to be used to them and to be comfortable with them so they won't be too curious. I worry about curiosity. I liked shooting the handguns but the bigger ones were a little heavier and made me more nervous. I am glad that those long guns will reside in a gun safe and I don't' have to worry about them too much! I'll stick to the smaller handguns. I did really enjoy going shooting even though it was really, really hot!
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After the range, we headed to play 9 holes of golf. Linda and I are new to the game and the boys are more seasoned. I was afraid that it would be too hot but by our tee time at 4:00 it had started to cloud over and there was a nice breeze. Not too many people were at this particular golf course either so we could take our time. I really enjoyed myself which is good because a few days ago I played terribly in a work tournament (more about that some other time). I'm glad to know that I could be a decent player and that bad day I can chalk up to the fact that I was using men's clubs! And can I just say that golf carts are so worth it. Why anyone would choose to walk the course I just don't know!
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After a dinner at Red Lobster we toppled into bed. The sun sure takes it out of you. We had a great weekend and I am so grateful for my friends for dragging us all over when we probably would have just stayed home bored. Instead, we had a full weekend and then Sunday and Monday to relax at home. The 5 day weekend was perfect and I was sad to come back to work today! It's 2:00 now, do you think I can go home early? Shouldn't you ease back into a full day's work?

hand puppets on steroids

Holy cow, this is really cool! Take a look.

post-op Post

So, I have been a bit chastised in my daily checking post. I do admit that I haven't been totally great in my postings either - I have had my bad moments. Mostly I was just commenting on how much I wish all of my blogging buddies would post often so that I could keep up with their lives. Maybe I just need to limit my checking to every third day or something. Does the fact that I check every day (sometimes twice) provide a commentary on my life somehow?

Some of the blogs I daily check only have a new post once a month or so. I'm just desparate for news!!! As I have mentioned before (and I know I don't follow this advice myself) I was told when I started the blog that it was quite acceptable to write only once a week. That's my goal I suppose. And I will try to remember that once a month is still better than them having no blog at all and then not getting news any more frequent that a Christmas card!

I do totally have to check out this blog post feed thing . . . of course, then I don't have the joy of going to a site that has had the same post up for awhile and feeling the great joy and excitement of a new post when I didn't expect one. That's kind of fun!

Daily Checking

I've got to stop checking blogs every day because I get so disappointed when I see the same post on my friends' sites as I did the day before. I have to give props to Sharon who is by far the best at being up to date and then my sisters and Linda all come in next. April - you get a pass because you are raising newborn twins - though I sure do love new posts from you. And the rest of you (you know who you are), when I can recite the name of your last blog post from memory because I've seen it so many times it's been too long. . . give me an update would you?!?

Sgt. Stevens

Two Sundays ago we had Sgt. Jill Stevens come speak at our stake youth Standards Night. She was wonderful. She was funny and spiritual and tough and it really was great. She brought a slide show with pictures from her tour in Afghanistan and had humorous stories about how she managed to cope while there and still make a difference by keeping her standards.

One of my favorite parts was that she set as a goal before she went to bring Joy while she was there. She set about baking cakes and cookies for all her troopmates, she organized races, parties, and painted rocks like jack-o-lanterns. She told of how her family has a Thanksgiving tradition of posting up a large tree trunk and then throughout the month, they write things they are thankful for on leaves. She would carry blank leaves in her pockets when she'd go on missions and give them to the other soldiers so they could write things they were thankful for and then she'd go back and put them on the tree. It was such a neat thing for all the soldiers that they left it up for months after November was over. She said that early in her tour she was feeling a little depressed and unhappy and she was looking at her dog tags just wasting time. She noticed her name "Jill Stevens" and her rank "Sergeant", her religion "LDS" and then she saw that her tags said "be positive!" Well, they really said blood type "B+" but she took this to be a sign that this was in her blood!

One of the other great things she mentioned was the development of the NFS rating system. She said that she kept to her standards when it came to movies and language but never tried to push them on the others. Eventually they started referring to certain conversations as "Not For Stevens - NFS" and when she was around they'd stop people who were going to bring an NFS moment. She didn't try to force her beliefs on them but the respected her for her example and were more careful.

It was a really great talk for the youth and for us leaders. I left wanting to be happier and better! What a cool girl!!

Melissa of Ages Past

I love it and I'm frightened all at the same time! Sharon put this link on her blog and I thought it was so funny. You upload a photo of yourself and it shows you yearbook photos of yourself through the years. Like she did, I added my favorites. I have to say, maybe it's the picture I uploaded or perhaps the picture they were trying to fit my face into - but some made my face look really, really fat! I didn't include those here.

1952

1968 And 1990 - nice huh?

And then, I couldn't not do Scott too . . . (he'd kill me - except that he never looks at this blog so he'll never know)

1964

1982

funny thing about this next one is that it looks extremely close to one of his actual high school yearbook photos.

1996

Anniversaries

Today is our 6th Anniversary! Can you believe it? I can't. The year's have gone by so quickly and though part of me feels like I have known Scott forever, the other part feels like it hasn't been 9 years since we met! Time sure flys when you are an adult. As a kid I remember it going much slower. It seemed like the summers lasted forever and the days were even longer!
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So, today we will celebrate by going out to Scott's favorite restaurant, Franck's. It's a French restaurant near the Cottonwood area in the parking lot of the Tuscany restaurant. He loves the chef and the way that he mixes unexpected flavors together to make amazing dishes. It should be wonderful and expensive!
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Can I just take a moment and tell you how much I love my husband? He is so considerate of my feelings and is never forceful or manipulative and he so much wants me to be happy. I am grateful to be his wife! Sniff, sniff, enough of the sentiment. On to other discussion.
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Since we are now one year beyond our 5th anniversary I feel it necessary to comment on the family situation. As most everyone knows, Scott has fiercely and openly clung to the "verbal agreement" we apparently made back when we were engaged whereby I "agreed" to not have children for 5 years. I recall this conversation and in my memory, the conversation was about how I didn't think it would be the worst thing in the world to not have kids for a few years so that we could get to know each other. In no way do I remember this becoming a binding contract - but whatever. So, last year on our anniversary the questions started. "You've had 5 years now, are you going to start a family?" to which Scott would comment, "I'm looking to add an addendum to the contract adding on several years . . ."
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Well, looks like Scott got one more year but not several. I am expecting and I am thrilled! The due date is March 23rd and I am not far enough along to know anything other than that I certainly feel pregnant. I'm nauseous but I don't throw up too much (thankfully) and I have learned that my uterus is pushing against my spinal cord which gives me pretty constant lower back and leg pains. Lovely. I've started the rubber band trick with my pants to expand them just that extra inch that is needed for comfort.
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So there you have it! Finally some news from the Bishop's that is Christmas card worthy. Oh, yes, I suppose I should tell you Scott's reaction since that is always the first thing everyone asks. I took the test in the morning and then went to work with my little secret. The test looked positive to me but the line was faint. I didn't want to tell him over the phone or though email so I just thought about it during the day myself. I got home before he did and was laying on the bed when he came into the bedroom.
"Go look on the bathroom counter" I told him
"Um, I think I know what you are getting at - I'm not going to" was his general response.
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I had been complaining the past few days because I was so tired and not sleeping well and not feeling well so I kept warning him "I could be pregnant" so he had some idea it was coming. He has not been outwardly joyous about the news - and I wouldn't have expected him too be - but he has been very supportive and has allowed me to talk openly about things that are going on and about my doctor visit and he has never once made me feel like I had to keep it all to myself because he just "didn't want to hear it". He is resigned but not in a terribly negative way.
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I think the negative thing he is feeling right now relates to meals. I have to eat every two hours (at least) to keep from being physically sick which means that I tend to scavenge for food and he usually has to fend for himself. We have been eating a lot of dinners consisting of waffles and cereal and going out to eat has dropped dramatically because I can't decide what I want to eat and he's to nice to force me to go anywhere he thinks I might not like. So, this is the biggest reason why a trip to Franck's tonight is my anniversary gift to him. I think I'll have a salad!

solutions

Well, I thought I'd post an update. Thank you all for your comments on my choir/young women dilemma! We have worked it out so that I can continue with choir at least for the Christmas season and then we'll see how it goes. I am so, so happy. As I tried to make the decision of whether to quit I kept crying! I think the Lord wants me to be happy but I didn't want to be counseling the Lord rather than letting him tell me what he wanted me to do. So anyway, thank you all for your thoughtful comments and I appreciate your concern for me! I have the best friends and family!!!

sicky

I just got back from a work retreat in Park City. I have been looking forward to this because it was a sanctioned three days off of work - oh, and there was horseback riding scheduled!

Tuesday in the afternoon I started to feel really congested. Then that night, I had to breath through my mouth all night (I really hate that) and I woke up with a pretty yucky sore throat. On my way up the canyon, I had to pull over and throw-up. So why did I go anyway you may ask? I had a presentation to give at the retreat that we had been preparing for 4 months! This particular group presents twice a year and I didn't feel like I could miss it. So, I took some medicine for the headache, ate a plain bagel to calm my stomach and continued up the canyon.

I was feeling fairly ok with the exception of the congestion still and the persistent sore throat. I was not about to miss the horseback riding though so I plugged along with the group. My horse's name is Wilbur. I got up on him and for a few minutes had to fight him because he wanted to buck me off. I was confident however, and was not unseated! Once the group got going Wilbur was extremely well behaved. I was pleased to let him stop and nibble on grass here and there because then he would break into a trot to catch up and that was much more entertaining than just walking along.

After the riding, my headache had returned and my nose was stuffy and my chest hurt and my back ached - all in time for the 3 hour presentation/discussion that the retreat was built around. Again, I was told that I could go to my room and sleep but I just didn't feel good about leaving in the middle so I stuck it out. However, as soon as that meeting was over I ran to my room to take some Tylenol, a bath, and a quick nap.

Well, Scott joined me last night. I felt bad that we couldn't do more in Park City today. I have tickets to the Alpine Slide and the Coaster but I just didn't feel up to it. Luckily, they are good through October so we'll have to go up on some Saturday to come. Instead, we stopped at the outlet mall where I decided I felt to cruddy to try on anything, and then headed for home. Scott keeps sticking his head in and reminding me that I should go and take a nap so I can feel better but I wanted to catch up on my blog reading first. So now that I am all caught up to date on my friends lives, I am going to take my stuffy nose and achy body and lay down for a bit - if I can stop checking work emails on my Blackberry!

the pits

So I have a dilemma. I have been called to be a counselor in the Young Women program in our ward (I haven't been set apart yet, does this mean I shouldn't be talking about it?). This is fine in and of itself except that I was sad that I'd have to drop Millennium Choir since our activities are on Wednesdays. I mentioned this to the bishop as we were leaving the meeting and he said "well, just for a month because in September, Mutual moves to Thursday nights" What? This is horrible news! While I didn't feel that bad about having to drop out of Millennium I am sick about having to drop out of the Sally Bytheway Chorale!!!
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I guess on the one hand, I only have to be out for a year since in twelve months our night will move to either Tuesday (I think there are three wards in our building so Tuesday would make sense) and then the next year to Wednesday . . . I only have to take one year off in every three . . . "glass half full" side of me says that's a deal while the "glass half empty" side says it stinks!
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I have spent the last 4 days trying to think of ways that I can do both. If we had advisers/teachers for our girls instead of just a Presidency, I'd feel better about not being there but I don't know that I can tell the new Pres. that she and her other counselor are on their own every week - I can't do that can I? I also don't feel good about going back to the bishop to turn down the calling just because I have an extracurricular activity that conflicts. That's not right either is it? My other thought was, maybe I can take turns - one week at Mutual, one week at choir. But then, I'd miss too many rehearsals and though I know my music backwards and forwards, I suppose it's not fair to have me miss so many when other members can only miss 3. So, then I thought, maybe I can just go to half of Mutual each night and be an hour late for choir. There would still be 1 1/2 hours left of each rehearsal . . . Again though, I'm back to the fact that 3 tardies equals an absence so I could be late 9 times and still be technically within the rule but I think there are more than 9 rehearsals.
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I'm just perseverating on this too much (thanks Linda for that word). I just have to quit don't I? Why is this such a hard conclusion for me to accept? I love this choir! You non-singers just don't understand really what this means. I have been in SBC since the beginning and I'm the section leader and it is such a stress relieving night each week where I get to see my good friends and my sisters and mom and I don't want to stop going for a calling!
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This is the pits!

Girls Camp 2008

I have the best girls in our Young Women program! We had a great time at camp. I was mostly excited to just get there so I didn't have to keep stressing whether it would all turn out. Once we figured out a way to get a seatbelt for every girl, things went pretty smoothly after that.
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The girls had a great time (I think), the leaders had a good time (speaking for myself at least) and it all went well. There was no need for Priesthood blessing due to sunstroke or falling into the fire, there were no huge spats between girls, and all in all, my first camp as Ward Camp Director was a success!

Behind

Wow! I know I am behind on blogging. Right after the last post I went to girl's camp and then have been catching up at home and work ever since. I have some great pictures from camp that I want to add but I just haven't made time to do it. I hope to catch you all up with life in the next week ok?

My dog the Democrat

My dog is a genius. He knows what a gun is! About a year ago, Scott had his shotgun out on the kitchen table and Jake barked and barked at it. Scott put it on the floor to see what he'd do (it was in the hard case that didn't even look like a gun shape) and he kept barking but wouldn't go close to it. Very weird. Another day, the soft case (shaped more like a shotgun - kind of a long triangle) was propped up empty against the wall and Jake went crazy.
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Yesterday, Scott brought home a handgun and was showing me how to put the magazine in and out and how to check to make sure it wasn't loaded, where the safety is - all those things that I have to know if it is going to be in my house - and Jake went off again. This gun doesn't even look like the other ones in size or shape so I don't know how in the heck he knows that it's "bad"!
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I think he must be a Democrat since he seems to be for gun control!

Courtesy Notices

Well, we officially have half a landscaped yard! About 13 days ago, we got a lovely "courtesy notice" from the city that stated that we were in violation of four city ordinances - something about trash in the yard, about weeds being too high, about not having (in the front and back yards) watered, mowed and fertilized grass, and then to ice the cake, a nuisance ordinance that they kick in if you have at least one other issue!

What a crock! We placated them by putting in half a yard. They were supposed to come by and check up on us Monday. I suppose they were satisfied since we haven't received a letter yet! That's good news.

The grass was supposed to come on Saturday morning. It finally showed up at 3:30 after we had spent the day outside doing other things in the 100+ heat (hottest day of the year of course) getting all sweaty and tired. Once the grass was finally all in place Scott turned on the sprinklers and laid right down in the middle of the lawn to get cool. I stood in the spray for a bit but I really didn't want to get soaked - though it looked very relaxing!

XanGo Salt Lake - Oh, I mean "Real" Salt Lake

We like soccer! We went to a Real Salt Lake game last weekend (I wrote in an email to my family that we went to a Real soccer game and my mom wondered if that was a Real game as opposed to a not real one . . .). Linda and Dan had some tickets from family and - can you see - we are on the second row! XanGo affiliation aside, Linda wins in the good Real tickets war!

We had some interesting discussion about whether or not fans should really ever be on a first name basis with the players "that's okay Chris, you'll kick him in the shins hard enough next time that he won't have to fake it . . .". It's just weird. I understand the last name thing - "way to go Jordan" "Stockton passes to Malone". However, I guess this first name basis thing is getting more popular "Tiger was in fine form today" "Kobe goes up for a lay-up" . . . of course they have distinct names that define who they are, not just "Chris". Ah, don't we have cute friends!

It's What Fun Is

Am I too old to call up my friends and invite them to Lagoon?

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Last Sunday when I noticed in the ward program that Stake Lagoon Day was Tuesday, I was taken back to those few times as a kid that we went as a family to Stake Lagoon Day. I don't really remember a lot other than riding the Magic Carpet over and over, Mom throwing up in the garbage can from sun stroke, meeting the ward at the assigned pavilion after picking up our cooler from the car, and drinking the always present McDonalds Orange drink from the orange McD cooler.

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I decided that this was a tradition that I should revisit. We dragged Linda and Dan along and went, dark rain clouds overhead aside, and ended up having a really great time. Well, I should speak for myself - I hope they all had a great time.

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My all time favorite ride is still Jet Star II but the next contender, coming a close second, was the new ride Wicked. Looking at that initial up and down really freaked me while I was in line, and the twisting track made me sure that I'd loose my churro, but it was surprisingly smooth and really, really exhilarating! My only negative comment is that it just is too short!

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Tuesday evening while we were driving north, the rain started in earnest. We even turned back at Centerville. However, once we hit Bountiful, the rain had mostly stopped and we could see blue skys to the North. So, we turned around again and gave it a shot. I'm glad we did. We wore jackets and it was a bit chilly but it was so nice to have shorter lines and no sun to make you crazy hot!

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I am of the mind that even adults can still have fun at Lagoon but I am an advocate for their marketing department creating a special "adults only day" because wow! it was difficult to keep my patience when surrounded by all those kids!

The evil eye

I had to post this picture of Lilian and Scott. I think it pictorially represents Scott's internal view of children!
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Mary and her family were in town last week. Unfortunately, mom and dad were on a cruise the whole time they were here. I, luckily, was able to see them on Thursday night when we all gathered at Sarah's house. We were also sad to not have Jeremy who was traveling and Rachel and Spencer not there. We got Mary's five to the party but missed five too. So hard to all get together now that we are all married and starting to spread out!

Things you see in So. Cal.

My co-worker and I went to a continuing education tax conference in Southern California this past week and decided that if we were going to be there anyway, then we probably ought to also go see Wicked in Los Angeles! Wow! It was fantastic!!! I was so pleased to see the show and to top it all off, our seats were moved up and we ended up on the 6th row! Talk about great seats! The only "Broadway" shows I've seen were the traveling shows here in the Capitol Theatre. It was cool to see the show in it's home theatre because they could do more permanent, and thus cool, staging. We wandered a bit looking at the stars on the sidewalk and saw more that we didn't recognize than those that we did. I took a picture with Doris Day's for Scott - he loves her old movies.
We also drove around the Newport Beach temple and took a few pictures.
And it wouldn't be Southern California if you didn't see some wacky he/she on the corner with a pink umbrella right?