Welcome to the Him-a-lee-eyes!

When Preston was little he could not say "himalayas". Whenever we would watch Monster's Inc. he would always shout "welcome to the himalee-eyes!" Too cute, and oh, so fitting for this time of year.

It started on Saturday. A nice blizzard rolled through causing havoc on the roads. I had to drive to Salem for a shift at Gracie Lou's Quilt Shoppe. A drive that normally takes about 13 minutes took over 40.

That morning, while I was on the phone with Papa, Paris decided to go out back in her PJ's and a light jacket.

It was a little more windy than she expected. Can you tell?

Well, after a few light flurries yesterday afternoon, we woke to a blanket of white.

It's FINALLY beginning to look a lot like Christmas! There really is something magical about the first (real) snow. Sure, in a couple of weeks I'll be wishing it away for some sun-shine. And of course, no one likes to shovel the walk. And since budget cuts, the roads don't get plowed- so driving is crazy. But the snow just makes everything look so beautiful. A snowman or two, a few snowball fights. Maybe sone sledding. It's fun for a few days. Inside you just want to cozy up with some hot chocolate and a warm blanket and watch a not-so-recent movie. Hmmm, if only I didn't have so much to do.

Oh well.

For those making the journey to visit, I hope you like snow! There's more in the forcast.

Bragging Forum

This is pathetic, but I'm going to brag about myself.
Today was the last day to submit 'revised' papers for full credit for my English 2010 class. Although an A- paper, I decided to resubmit for 100%. As I was going over and making changes I saw something I didn't see before.. (my teacher's words in blue)

"It’s important to be passionate about your beliefs, but it’s even more important to be educated on your beliefs." Very nice statement! May I use it. I promise to give you credit!

I really needed that today! I rock!

This week's highlights (and a few low lights, too!)

The shop is rockin' was we actually got a paycheck on payday. woo hoo!

I got 7 of the 13 stocking's I'm making quilted today. I'm adding another 7 for distant family members that I love! That'll make 20!!

We've all had colds, Gilbert has strep. (no kissing. YES!)

I went Christmas shopping, twice. Only bought a couple things. I really am doing good.

Frantically looking for something for Mom to wear to Zach's wedding.... still looking.

Made Chocolate/Butterscotch chip cookies today. The dough was really dry. Added a tiny bit of oil and a little water (thanks Mom).... yummiest cookies, EVER! (sorry Mom) ;o)

Quilted two quilts for $$$$$

Still don't have the tree up.

Only 13 days 'til Baila & Papa visit!

November, where did you go?

I can't believe it, it's gone already. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast on Thursday. Zach & Deanna and Trevor & Jesse gather at our home for a day of food and fun. Trevor was nice enough to bring Deanna's Guitar Hero for all of us to enjoy. I WANT ONE! It was so fun jammin' to all the cool tunes. For some reason I was worried about not having enough food. Um, it's sunday and we're havin' more leftovers. At least I got creative and made potato soup out of the leftover mashed potatoes and ham. Yummers! Let's not forget the added cheesy goodness! We were also blessed with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Herrick. They hung out and stayed the night Saturday and went to church with us this morning. When they finally packed up to leave, Logan wrapped his arms around Grandma and said "No. Stay. Quit your job. You're not leaving!" It was so cute. We definately wish they could've stayed longer. Maybe we'll get to go up there sometime soon. Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa Herrick!

I'll try to get some pictures of our little rockstars online soon.

See you in DECEMBER!

A day in the life of...

I'm sitting here eating lunch at 2:24 in the afternoon realizing that I only have about an hour until the boys come home from school. Where did my day go? I woke up late this morning, as usual (although, if it's really usual, then it's not late anymore, just right on time) and hurried downstairs to make the boys pancakes for breakfast. This does not happen on a regular basis. Infact, we have pancakes for dinner more often then we have them for breakfast, it just so happens that we were out of cereal and had oatmeal for breakfast yesterday. After they were out the door I set to work. I started from the back corner of the family room and worked my way through the whole downstairs- CLEANING! I like that a major holiday is right around the corner, it gives me the desire to do all the cleaning that I should do on a daily basis but don't. The downstairs looks great so I move upstairs for the major toy-sort in Paris' room. (ugh!) Finish with that, throw a bobby pin in my hair and head out to the grocery store. I was trying to beat the Thanksgiving rush, but I think half of Springville had the same idea. After an hour and a half of shopping & putting away groceries I'm finally sitting and enjoying my lunch.

So here's the reason for my, yet again, lengthy post: "most" stay-at-home-Mom/Wives spend their days doing normal housewifey things, and then, if time permits, enojoy their hobbies for a few moments. I, on the other hand, like to do things backwards. Usually I try to sew all day and if I happen to have a minute I'll throw a load of laundry in. Today was a normal 'housewife' day and I'm left feeling a little....LIKE I NEED TO SEW!!!


Hi. My name is Emily. I'm a quiltaholic.


They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. I think I'm 1/2 way there. I mean... this isn't really a PROBLEM, is it!?

Air Head

My brain is bursting. I don't know what the deal is but I have been on a creative kick lately and I just can't sew fast enough. I don't know if it's from stress, but since I've been sewing so much I don't really feel that stressed. Hmm!? I've designed about 8 patterns in the last few days. I seriously don't know what I'm going to do with all these ideas. If I keep it up I'll never have enough time to get them all done. I think I need to hire some little people who can crawl inside my head, see my ideas, and create them for me. While they're at it, I wonder if one of them will do my laundry?

30 days!

We have Christmas countdown blocks. You're supposed to change the numbers everyday to countdown the days until Christmas. We're not counting down to the 25th this year, we're counting down to the 18th. That's the day that Papa and Baila come to spend Christmas with us!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I don't think I'm any closer to my goal than I was the other day when I posted. I'm working at it though. At this point, nothing to report. (argh!)

Miss me?

Last night I worked at the hospital. We did an abdominal CT on a guy with piercings in his lower lip and gauges in his ears. He moaned and cried for his Mom the whole time. We thought he might have had a kidney stone. I thought it was a little ironic. Later I heard his Doctor had asked him if he was eating rat poison. The guy confessed! I assumed he was trying to get high but instead it was his ridiculous attempt at suicide. Crazy!

While at work I came to the conclusion that A) I need to find a week day to volunteer instead of sundays and B) I am going to apply for my program this year afterall. I'd been thinking against it since I'm almost sure I won't get in. However, applying this year gives me points which almost guarantees me a spot next year.

This morning I registered for Spring semesters classes. Ah! Intro to Music and Public Speaking. Both online courses. How hard can it be? this semester has been a blessing as it hasn't been as stressful as the rest. I hope this next one follows suit.

Today I am making a very important business decision. You'll have to stay tuned to find out what that's all about!

Oh, what a day

I shouldn't even post this. What I should do is write it all down and send it to Hollywood as a sitcom script. Except, it's really not even that funny so they probably would toss it in the trash. But I just have to share it so I can just get over it. So here it goes (beware it's a little lengthy):

Yesterday started off a little crazy. I had a lot of errands to run after taking Paris to school and needed to have them done before I picked her up because after that I was running to SLC with Margie. Margie and her little boy Jared, Paris and I drove up to Gardner Village to Pine Needles quilt shop to pick up our trunk show. They placed 4 orders within the last month while having our quilts there. They did AWESOME! The kids were good, the weather was good, everything was good. After we left Margis wanted to stop for a fast-food snack. After driving around for a bit I found a Burger King. While sitting at the drive through with my foot on the brake, all of a sudden the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I knew that something wasn't right. As I started to drive away I called Gilbert. He told me to pull over and check the brake fluid. After I did this (it was half full) he said I must be leaking fluid somewhere. I looked under the car and brake fluid was running down the drivers front wheel and puddling on the ground. Luckily there was a Firestone shop on the other side of the parking lot. I drove slowly over to the shop. I had brakes, but it was really weird and definately not right. The guy at Firestone said it would be at least 45 minutes before he could even get to the car. Margie and I both had kids to get home to after school. I called Gilbert again and he said it would be cheaper to park the car and we would come up later and fix the brake line. Unfortunately, Gilbert is the only one in the shop right now so he couldn't just leave to come get us. Luckily Zach didn't have a lot going on and agreed to come rescue us. In the mean time, not wanting to get back on the main road and drive anymore than I had to, I moved to a Lowe's (which was closed) and parked the van there. There was road construction also, so it was harder to get anywhere than normal. Although therevwere signs that said they would tow, I didn't really have a choice. I wrote a note with black marker on white paper which read "PLEASE DON'T TOW! Car broke Down. Will pick it up by 8pm 11/3/08" I also listed my phone number. Zach showed up and we got home in time for the boys to get home from school.
When I got home I called Gilbert to find out the plan. The only part he could get was in SLC and they closed at 6. So I needed to get a ride to the shop to meet Gilbert and then we would head up to SLC to get the van. The plan was to pick up the part, drive to the van, fix the part, and I would drive it home. I had to leave at 4:30, I was only home for a little over an hour with the kids. I got to the shop, we loaded some tools and headed to SLC, picked up the part and headed to the parking lot where I left the van. From the freeway off-ramp I could see the lot and could also see that the van wasn't there. Err! We found a number for the tow company and asked why in the heck they towed my van even tough I had left a note in it. Needless to say, the girl was a little less than helpful. The cost to pick up our van (since it was after 5pm) was $227. If we waited for business hours it was $40 cheaper. Obviously we couldn't come back so we decided to pay. Then she tells us "cash only." Yeah, like I have that kind of cash at 6:30pm when banks are closed. Luckily Gilbert had cash from a deposit he hadn't made so we went over to get our van. In the meantime we called the police to find out our rights. The officer told us there was nothing we could do and that they get calls twice a day from this company. even the officer couldn't beleive they would tow us with the note I had left in the car. Gilbert even went as far as to ask the officer if they would look the other way if we broke into the impound lot to get our car. Silly Gilbert! (he was really upset)
I'll try and make this a little shorter. By the time we got our car out of impound, the tow-truck driver, also less than helpful, it had started to rain. Gilbert already had another car we was supposed to go back to the shop and finish. He decided to put more brake fluid in the van and drive it home anyway. We got back to orem and went to eat dinner. Gilbert left the van at his friends' shop and we went to eat. After all of this I was so tired and frustrated. We ate dinner, went back to the van where Gilbert transfered his tools to the van to head to the shop. I said good-bye and headed for home. About 3 minutes on the freeway, Gilbert calls my cell to tell me that I have the keys to the shop. I had just passed the off-ramp so I pulled off the side of the freeway. Gilbert caught up and got his keys. Oh my gosh! Was there anything else that could happen? I finally got home and took the babysitter home (an awesome girl who refused payment), Gilbert called my cell again- the part he needed for the van, was still in the truck. AAAHHHHHH! Rather than have me drive up there again he said he would just drive the van slowly home and fix the part in the morning.
Today he has the van back at the shop so he can finally fix the brake line. I'm glad none of this happened on the way to CA. We needed new tires which Gilbert had put on by someone else the other day. Whatever they did is the reason the brake line was rubbing and ruptured. Nice.
Well, we called our favorite channel 2 news guy "Get Gephardt" and we're hoping he does a story on this SPEEDY Towing business. It was just wrong for them to tow our car only 1 hour after I left it, especially with a note in it. And when Gilbert mentioned the note to the tow truck driver who came to get our van out, he laughed and said he had heard about that. What is that suposed to mean? that they were all laughing about it on their radios? Also, as if we couldn't have guessed the guys said "well, we do work on commission." What a bunch of jerks!

That was my day yesterday. Whatever happened in your life, be glad it wasn't as bad as this!
(sorry for the novel) HAVE A NICE DAY!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Paris the WITCH, Logan the NINJA, and Preston as INDIANA JONES

Me and Gilbert as PIRATES!

Halloween was great! We took the kids trick or treating around the neighborhood for almost 2 hours and didn't even cover half of the houses. The streets were packed with kids and families. The weather held out for one more day and we had the most beautiful halloween EVER! I didn't even have to put long-johns on the kids under their costumes. It was perfect! The kids had a birthday party the next day where they each got another bag full of candy. Nobody complained when I took ALL the candy and dumped it into one bowl. There was more candy then would fit in my huge tupperware bowl so I threw out the rest (don't tell the kids!)

Paris' Poor Pumpkin

Last Wednesday Paris went on a field trip to Hee Haws with her preschool class. When I went to pick her up there was a pickup truck full of pumpkins. Most of the pumpkins were normal size for 3 and 4 year olds. Paris' on the other hand was tons bigger than the rest. She couldn't even carry it. Apparently her teacher or another parent helped her carry it around. Lucky girl. I would've made her pick out one she could carry herself.

So after drawing on it herself she begged Gilbert to carve it for her, including the fingers she drew (see picture 2). It was a pretty cute Jack o' Lantern and she was proud of it. However, over the next few days I kept finding it on the kitchen counter with knives stuck in it. Aside from the danger aspect of Paris carving her own pumpkin, Jack was starting to loose his characteristic features. These pictures were taken after day 2 of Paris' plastic surgery. After day 4 it was no longer recognizable and met an untimely fate with the garbage can.

Poor Jack!

FINALLY pictures from Vegas!

Okay, so almost 4 weeks after my trip to Vegas I am finally getting these pictures up and posted thanks to a little reminding (thanks Dad).

When we first got there and hit the strip there was, of course, some construction. As if it wasn't bad enough trying to navigate our way into a city that none of us are really that familiar with, this bozo decides to cut us off. After our initial reaction, I looked ahead and started laughing. I just had to snap a pic. It seems more fitting for Hollywood, dontcha think? Well... they are California plates.

I don't even know if you can read the licence plate it says "DR BOTOX".

After we got settled in our hotel (the Tropicana which I don't have any pictures of, ugh!) we headed out into the crazy vegas evening. We stopped by the Belagio to see the famous fountains.

From L to R: Teresa, Kim (the one who moved to AZ and the reason we all met up in LV), Marci, Rebecca, Vicki, ME, Ashley.

While we were waiting for the fountains to start a cute woman came over to ask us if the fountains were going to go off even though it was a little windy. We noticed she had 6 children with her and her toddler son was wearing a BYU shirt so obviously she was LDS. Marci and Rebecca chatted with her for a moment and found out that she was driving back to CA from UT where she had been for conference. They stopped here to show her kids the fountains because her husband helped to create them. Cool huh!? Anyway, they were amazing.

This picture doesn't do it any justice at all.

After the fountains I was ready to shop! I was really excited to go to a store called H&M in the Planet Hollywood mall. I've heard of their clothes (designer styles, reasonable prices) but have never been. We finally found the store and saw a lot of cute things. I found a steal on some jeans but tried on several pair and just couldn't make them work. That's when a sales girl told me "this is a Juniors store, that could be why you're having a hard time finding something that fits." Okaaay. Thanks! Geez, I know a group of overly dressed (because we were dressed) women is a little weird to see in Vegas, but C'MON!

Here's a couple of my favorite sights

Probably the closest I'll ever get to the real thing.

Our Paris' favorite: "The Paris Temple"

I don't know what the deal was, by my shoulder was killing me. It felt like I had a horrible sunburn. Anyway, I left my bag and camera behind for a for a few excursions. We spent all of Saturday morning at an outlet mall. I sure had a good time!

Mmmmmm. I even had a raspberry hot chocolate from Starbucks. Love it!

By the time we got back to the hotel my shoulder was done. We went to see a "family" rated show but ended up leaving after the first lady came out without a top on. HELLO!? So we headed off to the Monte Carlo for a yummy buffet. After sitting there chatting and eating, then eating and chatting we finally hit the strip for a little more shopping. When we finally got back to our hotel it was about 10:30pm. Some of the gals were pretty tired but a couple of us were still ready to party. We went to the lounge in our hotel where a live band was preforming. We enjoyed a few songs before the waitress told us we couldn't stay unless we ordered some drinks. I asked if we could order soda and she said yes, so rest assured, caffeine was the strongest thing we had. We ended up staying up until after 2am, finally headed back to our room for lots of chit-chat and giggles before turning the lights out at 4am!

We had such a wonderful weekend. I'm so lucky to have such a great group of gals to hang out with. We don't see each other all the time, or talk everyday, but we love each other and enjoy the get-aways when we can. I can't wait to see where our next girls' weekend takes us next year!

No October, please don't go!

We live in Utah. Although some may argue, the truth of it is, we really only have 2 seasons. The season when the AC runs all the time and the season when the heat runs all the time. Every once in a while we get a week break in between. That was until OCTOBER! Honestly, this is the first "real" fall that I have experienced since living in Utah for 9 years. Well, at least that I can remember. The weather has just been perfect. I can't quit talking about it. The sun is out and shines nicely during the day, sometimes a long sleeve shirt is almost too much. Then at night it's cool enough to cozy up in a warm bed. I really am loving it. News forcast for tomorrow: storms a comin'. I knew it wouldn't last. But it sure was nice for a while!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I was right, my kids do love me! I haven't heard so many thank you's in a long time. As usual, 5 o'clock rolled around and I had no idea what to make for dinner. Gilbert and I have some running around to do tonight so I decided an easy meal for the kids would be great. But when I reached for the pancake mix the box was close to empty. Can I just tell you how much I love foodnetwork.com? There have been many a days that I've drawn up a recipe on my comp. set the laptop on the counter, and cooked a yummy dinner. Tonight when I googled 'pancakes' I got chocolate chips pancakes. Now some of you might say it doesn't sound like a very good dinner. But you know what? No one complained, and everyone cleaned their plate. To me, that's a good dinner!

Mechanic for life

Just thought I would update everyone on the shop sale and answer a few questions. It's not going to happen. We finally heard from the bank on friday and they said with the economy the way that it is they don't think it's a good move for them to make. Am I surprised? Not at all. In fact, I think they were stalling all along just to see what was going to happen in the world. Are we bummed? Yeah, a little, however both Gilbert and I decided last week that we felt good about things either way. It was just a matter of having an answer. If it had sold we would have been able to payoff a lot of things, but then we would be stressing about a monthly income. Now we don't get to pay those things off, and we still have to worry about our monthly income, althought not quite as much. I think things are going to be fine. A friend heard a news story that people aren't buying new cars, so they're keeping their old ones longer. Which means, they'll need maintenance. They're actually projecting a 30% increase in the car repair industry. I guess that's good news for us. Anyway, we've always been blessed so much with the work we've been able to have and I have faith it will continue. Thought you all would like to know. Bye for now!

p.s.- Pictures and update from Vegas to come!!

Kokone Salmon

Finally I have the pictures of our trip to Strawberry to watch the salmon. Here's our crazy kids standing next to one of the holding tanks.

And here is what was in the tank behind them. This doesn't even do it justice how many fish there were. I got some really great pictures of a few...

Unfortunately some of my pics from the fish in the river didn't turn out as great. Here's one of the first pictures I got of the river when we got there and I was freakin' out about how 'cool' it was.

It's just crazy how many fish there were.

I added this picture to tell you a little about these fish. These two were swimming upstream together. They would sit in one place or move very slowly against the current. Every once in a while the fish a little behind would bite the tail of the one a little further ahead and pull it back. They'd have a little squabble and drift downstream a little ways. Then they'd get over it and start swimming together again towards their goal. It was that craziest thing ever!

PARIS!

Can anyone out there tell me what to do with my 3 yr. old. I just can't take it anymore this crazy girl. In addition to the other crazy things I've posted about, a couple days ago Paris and her friend Chantel decided to play in concrete powder in the garage. After being scolded we separated the girls for the rest of the day. The following day, after only being together for 5 min. Paris had anti-itch cream in her hair and they both had it all up and down their arms. That play-date ended short and again, Paris received a stern lecture and a time-out.

Which brings me to TODAY! What a temper. After picking Paris up from school and running a couple errands (Library, Bank, Post Office) we came home to havve lunch before a scheduled play-date at the park. A place I decided would provide less for Paris to get into and destroy. Unfortunately I wasn't getting Paris lunch fast enough for her liking so she threw a Costco- sized container of mustard on the ktchen floor....right under the table. AAARRRGGGHH! 10 min. in the corner followed by an hour in her room as well as discussions about what is appropriate behavior in our home. I just don't know what to do with her.

A little while later I found Paris sitting on my bed with "Sesame Street" on the TV, folding her laundry. She said "Mommy, I'm folding my clothes." She was doing a GREAT job and I praised her so much for it. Then she says "Mommy, don't you love it when I do things that make you happy!?"
All I could do is scoop her up and love on her! What a girl!

Nights in Rodanthe

My husband is awesome. Yesterday Gilbert woke up at the crack of dawn to drive to lehi to pick up cousin Palmer so he could go to Boise with Gilbert and the kids. I thought it was so nice of him, and Palmer was beyond excited to go see his dad (Mike). What makes this amazing is that Gilbert doesn't even bat an eye about driving 5 1/2 hours with 4 kids in the car. This is not an easy thing since in the truck Preston has to sit in front which leaves the only place for Logan to sit is between Paris and Palmer in their car-seats. you may be thinking "poor squished Logan" to which I reply "No, poor Paris and Palmer" Logan has been banished to the back of the van for almost a year because he just can't ride in the car without bugging people. I was worried about gilbert's sanity. gilbert got the truck packed and was grumpy all the while. Maybe someday he'll understand why I plan out the whole paking-the-car-and-kids deal to eliminate some of the stress. Anyway, he made it to Boise safe and sound but did express his frustration with Logan who, even while Paris was sleeping, kept making faces at her and bugging her.
In the mean-time I was trying to figure out what to do with my day. I have a test to take on monday that I'm procrastinating studying for (even writing this blog is an excuse not to study). So I called up BFF Jeanne and we went to the VERY first showing of 'Nights in Rodanthe' and 2:10 in the afternoon. I can't remember the last time I watched a movie so early. So here's the deal. I've been a fan of Nicholas Sparks ever since Linda Harris forced me to read "The Notebook" I just love his writing and have all his books. But it's been a few years since I read this one. Jeanne, on the otherhand, does not read Nicholas Sparks. The movie was great, but I had forgotten about Sparks' style and some certain events that happen in most of his books. Without giving too much away, Jeanne was not too happy with me for choosing this movie. Okay, she still ,liked it, we were just surprised. Anyway, a good watch if you don't mind soaking your shirt with tears. (everyone needs a good cry now and then, right!?)

I finished off my night by catching up on the Grey's premier online, and enjoyed NOT having to put kids to bed. Today I get to go to the general women's broadcast in SLC at the conf. center. My first time! I really should study before then since I have all this time without kids....Hmmm, we'll see.

Mashed Potato Thursday

I thought since it's been a while since I blogged I might as well let ya'll know what we've been up to. Well, not much. Last weekend Gilbert had planned to take the kids to Boise and give me some time to study (and play.) Unfortunately Paris and Logan came down with a stomach bug and were throwing up on friday so their plans were cancelled. I still managed to sneak away to Scrapbook Expo with my friend Margie. We had a fun time AND got to eat Cafe Rio. YUM! Saturday the kids seemed okay and Gilbert felt bad that he ruined my weekend (it wasn't his fault the kids got sick!) and insisted that I go play with my BFF Jeanne. He's the best! We went to SLC to this barn sale where I picked up the steal of a century: a beautiful full size 4-poster bed painted creamy yellow that matched Paris' room perfectly- for only $75. I even called Gilbert to ask permission. I told you he's the best. While we were gone he took the kids, now feeling much better, fishing at Utah lake. It was a nice weekend.
Sunday after church we took a family day trip to Strawberry Resevoir to watch the Kokone (sp?) salmon swim up river to spawn. It's amazing! there's a "milking" station there where the fish are guided into by way of an electric fence. The kids loved it, the weather was perfect, I took a million pictures. (I'll get them on soon) It was great.
Paris has been living up to her reputation this week. She coerced her friend Chantel into smearing shampoo all over themselves. Uuuugh! What am I going to do with this girl!? Later that night she took a brand new box of cheerios and dumped them on the trampoline. Yes Melanie, I know, I did want her. ;o)
Gilbert is hoping to make the trip to Boise tomorrow since the kids will be out of school. WooHoo! We'll see if it happens. the whole shop deal is still up in the air. Can we just be done with this already!?

I think that's it. Any more and you'll probably fall asleep. I'm excited today....GREY'S ANATOMY 2-hour Season Premier! (I love my smut TV)

My First Fish

On Saturday we ventured out to the lake again to give fishing another try. I''ve been several times, and Gilbert always promises fish but I had never caught one. That was until Saturday. I kept teasing Gilbert that nobody wakes up in the middle of the night to go fishing. We wole up at 5:30am, but since it was still dark I consider it nighttime. We picked up Gilbert's cousin Dave and his girlfriend Brooke and headed up Provo Canyon to Deer Creek Resevoir. Within Minutes on the lake Brooke had a bite. A little while later she caught another one. I was beginning to think that the luck was all with her and that I was going to come up with an empty hook again when all of a sudden her and I caught fish at the same time. I finally caught a fish and I have a picture to prove it. (You can kinda' see my haircut, for those that were curious) I named my fish "brownie" because it was a brown trout. All the other fish that were caught were rainbows. You can tell it's a brown because of the spots. We had a great time. That was the only fish I got but it was still worth it. I don't know if Gilbert would say the same...







I am here to tell you that it is not negligence that causes one to get a hook in their finger. I escaped with a few battle wounds too, none as bad as Gilbert's though. Even the most careful fishermen get hooks in every once-in-a-while. The reason is the really ticked off fish that come out of the water with a hook in their mouth and gasping for air. They are thrashing like a bugger and their super slippery and not easy to hold onto. I was holding mine (before the pic) and all of a sudden it flipped out of my hand. The hook went right through the top few layers of skin on my pointer finger. It just left a little cut, the fish and hook landed on the bottom of the boat. Gilbert wasn't so lucky. His fish was on the lower hook and when it flipped the top hook went right into his thumb. He tried to push it through but it hurt too bad. So he decided to have Dave try and pull it out that didn't help either. Here is what resulted:

My husband, in InstaCare, with anesthetic so the Doc could pull it out. My poor husband, he sure adds a bit of excitement to every outing. Hey, at least we always have good stories to tell!

Another Hair Cut

We did it again! After only a couple months since her very first haircut, Paris got another one. And this time it's dramatic. I took the boys in for a cut and saw a picture of this girl that reminded me of Paris and I knew that Paris needed her cut. So with a little bribery I got her up in that chair and we cut off about 5" of hair. I felt a little guilty since I didn't ask Gilbert first, but I knew Paris would look adorable so I didn't give him a chance to say NO. When I did tell him (over the phone) he wasn't too happy with me. But once he saw her, he loved it. And just last night after he laid her in bed he told me that she looked just like the little girl he always dreamed he would have. :o) Isn't that the cutest!? Well, how about some pictures?

Here's my girl with her goofy smile! What a cheeseburger. When I tell her to relax she makes a mad face. Out of the two I'd rather have this one.

These pictures were taken the morning after her haircut after I'd blown it dry to straighten it. I can also put a little gel in it when it's wet and it still curls up. Too cute! Let me know what you think.

FatQuarterShop.com

I have to say that today started out a little crappy. There was one problem after another and things just weren't going well. I guess that's what Monday's are all about. Anyway, my day has taken a turn for the better. Shortly after 1pm I received a call from Fat Quarter Shop. For those of you who aren't quilter's let me tell you about this site. It's the best! They have everything you need: tons of fabric and lots of patterns. And the thing is, it's easy to find. They may not be the biggest online quilt store, but they're definately one of the biggest and easiest to use. I love 'em. Since school started CrazyOldLadies has slowed down a bit and decided to focus on marketing. Last week I sent out 22 free patterns along with a letter to different shops around the U.S. inviting them to look at our patterns. Today it all paid off. As I said, Fat Quarter Shop called and placed a HUGE order. I can hardly stand it. This silly little at home business that Margie and I created....well this is just one more thing to prove that we are in out right mind. Not to put it all on this one shop, but it definately spells SUCCESS when you're on Fatquartershop.com. WOO HOO!

Little Blessings

And so it goes, the kids are sick. I have to share a really cool story about Logan. Last sunday after we got home from PC he complained of his ear hurting. I gave him Ibuprofen and that seemed to help. The next day his ear hurt him all day, but since it was Labor Day I was holding out for our real doctor. I continued giving him Ibuprofen at regular intervals to relieve his discomfort. That night he came to me with what looked like an infected splinter on his hand. I knew I needed to lance it, clean it, and put medicine on it so that it would heal but he was very scared of the needle (who could blame him, right!?) Anyway, after trying to convince him that it wouldn't hurt and that this is what he needed to make it get better, we decided to say a prayer so that he wouldn't be so scared. As I was finishing the prayer I felt impressed to bless his ear as well. I had already planned on keeping him home tues. so we could visit the Doctor's office. As it was, his ear never bothered him again. I am so grateful for the little blessing in life. All too often I trudge through the bothers of life thinking "these are lessons to learn from." But this time I learned a lesson that nothing is too small that we can't ask for help. I've been sharing our little miracle story with anyone and everyone that would listen. Last night Paris was up during the night with her nasty cold and she was rubbing her ear. I asked her if her ear hurt and she said "yes, will you say a prayer about my ear Mommy?" Even she understands the power of prayer. So we said a prayer and we're waiting. I'm trying not to be greedy with my blessings, but I do have faith.

Happy Birthday to ME!

I thought i would write a little re-cap of my awesome weekend vacation to Park City with my wonderful husband. A few weeks ago I decided to plan a mini-vacation away for my birthday. Lucky for Gilbert, he got to come along. I wouldn't have been able to do anything though if it wasn't for my awesome sister, Allison that just happened to move out here a couple weeks ago. She was brave enough to agree to watching our three rascals for a couple days. She brought along her friend Linda to give her a little sanity while she was here. Anyway, we headed up to Park City on friday and stayed at one of the Marriott hotels in PC. I just love it there. Saturday we hit the outlets for their labor day weekend sidewalk sale. thanks to a couple coupons I picked up last week we made a good haul for the kids winter school clothes. I just love shopping with Gilbert up there. He's so good at it! Which I have to say is a talent I helped him develop since we've been married. :o) After our quick shopping trip (we were there less than 2 hours) we skipped over to Red Rock Brewery for a little lunch. uuuh, no beer! I had yummy potato-bacon soup w/ sourdough bread. Mmmmm! Then you'll never guess what we did. This is totally unheard of once you have kids. We went back to the hotel and took a nap. Can you believe it? and for 2 hours. I'll tell you, it was so nice not having little people pulling your eyelids up and asking if you're asleep. Or screaming from downstairs that someone is hitting/kicking/punching/bothering them. After our little snooze we headed into downtown. There was a mustang car show that day so we got to peek at a few nice hot rods while we strolled in and out of shops looking for a belt that I wouldn't have to take a loan out for. We stopped into a BBQ place for dinner. Oh Yum! Both of us only ate about 1/2 our food because there was so much. But it was sooooo good. I ordered brisket, Gilbert, pulled pork. Afterward we hiked back up to our truck and drove down to a nicer spot to catch the chair-lift up the mountain. It was so beautiful. I was particularly amazed since I've never been skiing or on a lift. It wasn't too scary, especially once we found the safety bar...ON OUR WAY BACK DOWN! had to laugh about that one. Anyway, once on land again we hopped over to listen to a local band play and just relax. Have I mentioned how nice it is not having several kids scrambling all over the place? Well, it is. We woke up sunday morning and started our drive back. We took the long way through Midway, UT then cut across to the Alpine Loop. We stopped at Cascade Springs for a little walk and threw berries into the ponds and watched the brown trout fight for them. Only to spit them out once they realized what they were. Back on the road again, and heading for home. But boy were we exhausted. Crazy how a little vacation can wear you out. The kids were happy to see us, and Allison and Linda were still alive. We had a wonderful weekend...I'm already planning the next one! My advice to all: Just Do It! Even if it's only a little town a few miles away, taking that time for a break is well worth it.

The best present

Last night Gilbert needed to "run some errands" so I conveniently skipped out of the house for some ice-cream with a friend. Gilbert took the kids to the store and let them decided what to do for my birthday. Apparently Preston found a card with a 'good-looking' guy on the front that he wanted to give me. Thank goodness he didn't understand the questionable nature of the card and Gilbert was able to convince him to look at something else. (Sheesh, what a kid!) The kids found these letters in the craft area and wanted to spell out my name. They each painted a letter and Gilbert helped. Logan painted the "L", can you tell? He picked it because L is for Lakers and he painted it yellow and purple for their colors. Then Gilbert helped him spell Kobe Bryant on it. It's so cute our little basketball connection Logan and i have. Paris helped stamp pink flowers on some of the letters. When I came home the house was clean, the kids were in bed, and my name was waiting for me on the kitchen table. It was so AWESOME! This was seriously one of the best presents I've gotten because of the thoughtfulness and time that went into it. And that's why I wanted to share it with all of you. Aren't my kids great!?

Perfect Pedi

I have the most awesome friend in the world. By BFF Jeanne took me to get my first pedicure today as an early birthday present. It was so much fun and SOOOO nice. Aside from being a slight bit ticklish during the scrubbing part, it was very enjoyable. Don't my piggy's look nice? Thanks Jeanne, YOU ROCK!

Saying funny things

Paris is always saying the funniest things. Having a 3 year old has it's moments, but I love all the cute things she says. Today after pre-school we ran some errands with Dad since we didn't have to be home until 3pm for the boys. Unfortunately the cute shoes Paris wore to school gave her a blister. We put a bandaid on, some socks and her comfy shoes. Despite my best efforts it was still hurting her. Once in the car, and after she removed her shoes, socks and band-aid, this is the conversation that followed:
Paris:(crying and in a demanding tone) "Mom, my blister is still hurting me. Get me a band-aid!"
Mom: "I'm sorry, I don't have a band-aid. I can fix it when we get home."
Paris: (almost screaming) " Mom I need a band-aid real soon"
Mom: "Honey, I'm sorry it hurts. Don't bother with it and it won't hurt so much."
Paris: (in a more calm, 'don't you know anything' tone) "I'm not bothering it, It's bothering me!"

Gilbert and I just looked at eachother and started laughing. She's such a little fire-cracker. This was definately one for the record.

Back to School

The kids started school today. I hadn't decided until yesterday

to send Paris to pre-school. I just kept going back and forth. But she was so excited today and didn't even look back. I know I made the right decision. Preston was so matter-of-fact about today, but he's that way about everything. I could tell he was excited. Logan was smiley, but I could tell he was a bit anxious. My cute little worry wart. He has two friends from the neighborhood in his class so I think that made him feel good. The kids aren't even half as excited I am though. I still can't believe that I have 2 whole hours to myself every Mon, Wed, and Fri. I remember telling a friend of mine that I wanted 2 extra hours in a day and that when I could figure out how to do it, then life would be great. Of course, this isn't exactly what I had in mind, but I feel like my prayers were answered. With this little bit of extra time, now I'm ready to go back to school.

As Promised

We get used to having storms pop up quickly in Utah, especially during the summer months. This picture was taken just a couple of weeks ago from my front porch, and I'm finally getting around to posting it. The kids were outside jumping on the trampoline when it started dumping buckets of rain. They were so wet before they even got inside the house. Aside from those dark clouds, you can see the sun was still shining brightly (keep in mind it was early evening and the sun was behind the house at this point.) Anyway, I glanced outside to see the rain and there was the biggest, brightest rainbow just in front of the house. I had to get a picture and Paris and Logan wanted to be in it. So we might have crazy weather, but we get to enjoy some of the most wonderful treasures created.

I survived!

Well, Gilbert made it home last night safe and sound. He may have been empty handed, but he had lots of stories to tell. His potty served him well, but can you believe he never even tried the shower. Yuck! I didn't even want to let him get in bed to go to sleep last night without showering first. I had a nice weekend with the kids. Not a lot was going on. Allison was a HUGE help. She watched the kids while I went to work and I got to help with a trauma. (Yay!) It was a 16 year old boy who got into a bicycle accident. It wasn't too bad, but he did have a broken femur which we got some awesome pictures of. Monday was fun though. We woke up in the morning and did some driving around Mapleton and Springville looking at nursuries to see if there were any good deals on trees and shrubs. Didn't find any. Then I got a sitter and Alli and I went to the mall. I got a haircut while Al went shopping for a bit. Afterwards we drove Al back to Lehi and hung out there to celebrate her friend Saffron's birthday. It was lots of fun, and yummy food. I even got to meet a couple old missionaries that served in Cali and knew the fam. We didn't get home until after 9pm. The real good news is this: SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW! woo hooo!

Weekend Widow

"We interrupt this marriage to bring you......Hunting Season."

Archery Deer and Elk open today and Gilbert's already up there ready to get a trophy. I just have to laugh at how excited he gets. I tease him a lot about it, but it really makes me smile. I just have to remember, when he talks hunting it's the same as me talking fabric. He started packing monday. Of course, when we went to Disneyland for a week he didn't pack until the night before, but for hunting he had to start 5 days early. This year he even made a toilet (a 4$ toilet seat screwed to a 2x4 frame) and he was going to make a shower until we found a cool one at emergency essentials. Sounds like it'll be 'Home Sweet Home' to him up there. I always dread hunting season because that just means more time single-parenting for me. Proud to report that my first 24 hours have been pretty good. Mostly everyone went to bed on time last night (can you guess which little girl didn't?) and they've been playing nice this morning already. I have to rely on the little things to save my sanity or the time goes by too slowly. So last night Trevor came by for dinner and I was able to enjoy bits and pieces of adult conversation. And today, Alli is coming to stay for the weekend. I'm so excited to hang with my sis. I hope the kids don't bug her too much. On sunday Zach and Deanna will come for dinner. All these simple things to look forward too, but they make the weekend so much better, and the kids love it too. Today we're going to play all day because the kids were willing to do all their chores last night. We also rented Nim's Island and Eragon. We're just going to have lots of fun and hope that there's not a lot of fighting and arguing. Maybe this weekend won't be too bad afterall.

So Paris

So this is what I get when I beg her to let me take a picture of her new earrings. She ran around grabbing props and making silly poses. I just love that little scrunched up nose. The first one is definately my favorite. As you can tell, she just got out of the pool. Usually I make my children wear pants... at least Paris anyway.

Ear piercing!

Ok, so if I was a true blogger there would be a cute picture of my 3 year old with her brand new earrings. but of course that cute 3 year old has not let me take a picture yet. For those of you who don't know the story, Paris has been begging (literally) to get her ears pierced. I finally decided that the only reason not too was 'giving in to her every whim and desire' so I made her earn it. We decided that if she could quit sucking her fingers then we would take her. Now this was not like the cell-phone deal where she quit for a week, got her toy phone, then promptly went back to sucking. This time, it's stuck.... so far. A little tabasco helps her remember. Anyway, after I was convinced she'd stopped we prepped her with all the gory details and took her to the mall. I kept telling her it would hurt but she wanted to do it anyway. She sat in that chair so good, but I could tell she was so nervous. They pierced them at the same time (well, close) and she did cry, for a minute. then we all told her how beautiful she was and she started strutting around like she does when she thinks she's so cute. So there you have it. So she got them pierced saturday and she's already taken them out twice. One time I had to crawl around on the family room floor to find them (and I did). the other time I asked her where she put her earring and she said "In the garbage. It was bothering me." Ew, I could just get her. Anyway, luckily it was after garbage day so there was next to nothing in the can. They're back in now and oh so cute. I think she's getting used to them now. She made me put in little studs too, so when it's cleaning time, she cleans and turns mine, and then she allows me to do hers. What a girl! Anyway, now that she's getting more used to it I think I'll take another try at getting a picture.

Preston's Pinewood Derby

We had a great time at our first Pinewood Derby. What a big deal it is here in Utah. The track that they had was all hooked up to a computer so that all results were accurate. Those cars were racing at around 180mph! Can you belive that!? It was lots of fun to watch all the boys race their cars. Preston's car was called "Shark Attack". Unfortunately I didn't get a picture before it was dropped or banged and lost part of it's fin (spoiler). After the accident Preston actually liked it more because then it looked like it had been in a shark attack. It's hard to see the detail in the photo, but it has lots of scary teeth toward the front and a dorsal fin in the middle. Although Preston didn't win first place, he had a great time. We learned lots of tips from our friends and we're already planning for next year. Tip #1, start a lot earlier than the day before the race on your car! ;o)

Paris...Idaho that is!

We just had another fun weekend in Paris, ID for the Bolton family reunion. It is so fun to see everyone again and catch up on the last year of events. I really enjoy visiting with Gilbert's Aunt Kay and his cousins and their babies. This year was cool because there were 5 generations there. Gilbert's grandma MaryLou being the most mature :o) and little Riley at 3 mo. old being the youngest. I thought it was so cool. Thanks to our friend Bret Boyer we were able to borrow his motor home for traveling and lodging. Ok, so we had one little incident where it almost overheated but other than that it worked out great. the worst part about overheating was that I had to run to the back of the motorhome, fill a bowl of water from the melted ice in the cooler and pass it up to Gilbert so he could douse the radiator with it. While I was doing this, with a starburst in my mouth, I managed to snort a little bit of candy up the back of my throat in to my nasal cavity. Just what you wanted to hear right? If any of you think this might be a cool trick to show your friends, I don't recommend it. OMGosh, my nose and throat burned for over a half-hour. My throat continued to hurt the next morning. At some point the next day I sneezed and when I blew, it was pink! okay, a little too much info. but it was definately an event.
Something else that happened: we found out Preston is allergic to mosquito bites. The poor kid is a magnet for them. He's been bit before and sometimes they go unnoticed, but this time is different. Gilbert told the kids about making mosquito's burst. Well, preston had one on his ear and his cousin Tommy decided to squeeze the mosquito. I don't know if this allowed a little more venom than usual to enter into his skin or if it's just because there's not a ton of tissue on the ear but Preston now looks like Wil Smith in 'Hitch". I kid you not, his ear is so swollen. I wanted to take a picture but he's really senstitive and embarassed about it. After a couple doses of Benadryl and some cream on his ear the swelling hasn't gone down (it may even be worse) so tomorrow we're taking a trip to the Dr. to have them take a look at it. And if anything else, give us some info. incase it happens again. Right now Preston thinks he can never go outside again (he probably just wants to stay in and play PS2) but he's going outside if I have to dunk him in a vat of OFF!.
Ok, other highlights......We played in the lake which is so cool beause the water is so shallow for so long that it is warm and the kids can walk out quite a ways. Paris had a blast walking with Grandma and having people swing her into the water. Of course the boys had fun too. The boys also had a great time sliding down the "big [grassy] hill" on sleds. Also, my niece Courtney won a beautiful flower arrangement during the raffle that I had been wishing for and she gave it to me. "What is it for?" she asked in a very teenager-like way. I laughed and said, "Someday when you're old like me and have a house you'll want silly stuff like this to put on a table and look at." She just smiled.
Well, we made it home in barely enough time for me to take a quick shower and head off to work. Not a lot going on in the hospital tonight. I guess that's a good thing! ;o)

Computers

Just about everyone can rant for hours about an encounter or two they may have had with computers. Well, here's mine. So our computer is a few years old, which in terms of computers is ancient. Rencently I've been getting a warning on my computer that we're running out of hard drive space. This I can understand due to the loads and loads of pictures on here that I keep meaning to burn to a CD. Now I know I was playing with fire when I ignored the warnings, but I had no time to deal with it now. So today I'm working on more patterns and need to burn a couple pics to a CD to go have copies made. I load 6 pictures into the comp. to burn and the comp. tells me that there's not enough space to create a back-up to burn these to CD. Fair enough. It also tells me how much space I need to create: 63MB. SO I go into remove programs and decide to get rid of itunes mostly because Gilbert told me to. Anyway, half-way through the uninstall process it tells me that the computer doesn't have enough memory to preform the task. Ummmm. Does that make sense to any of you, or is it just me? Why do I need more memory if I'm deleting a file just to free up more memory? Argh. So then I had to remove my Medical Terminology program so that I could remove itunes all so that I can load some pictures, burn them to CD, then remove them from my comp. Well, obviously I lived to tell about it so it wasn't too bad but it took up an hour of my day that I really needed. Now it's time to make dinner. Yea!

The Empty House

There once was a house that was nice.
For 5 people it did suffice.
Vacationers came
It was such a fun game
and now it is empty and lame.

okay, there's a good reason I'm not a poet. We had so much fun with extra family in town for Preston's baptism. I can't believe the week went by so fast. We kept pretty cozy with 14 people under one roof, but it wasn't too bad. I could've used another table though. Meals got a little crazy. Now that everyone is gone my house just feels empty (and not in a good way.) I miss everyone already. If I could get good paying jobs for everyone I'd invite them all to move in. :o) I had a couple neighbors comment on having family visit and offer their condolences about the mess that I'd be cleaning up for the next few days. Can I just say "I have the best family ever!" My mom and sister-in-law helped keep things tidy the whole week and wrapped everything up the night before they left. It was awesome. Thanks you guys! We miss you all a ton already. When can you visit again? ;o)

Payson Quilt Show

It's finally over. It's not hard work, but takes lots of time. When I lived in Payson it was not a big deal, but now that I have to drive 20 minutes (and not to mention the price of gas!) I went down this morning to pick up my quilts and a few quilts that belonged to friends that I entered. I was really excited to take my camera and get a picture of my display. When I got there everything was already taken down, except my display. Whew! Thankfully someone remembered that I wanted to get a pic and left it up. I made sure everything looked good, got out my camera, pressed the button and...nothing. Because I'm so smart and waited until the last day I forgot that the battery was in the wall charger and not in the camera. So, the purpose of this long drawn-out story is to explain why I don't have a pic of my quilt show display. However one cool thing did come of it. When picking up my quilts I realized that I'd won another prize: Honorable Mention for my Monster Mayhem quilt. I didn't even look at the quilts after the ribbons were placed because it wasn't a big deal to me. I was really surprized. It made me so glad that Sharon helped track the quilt down and send it to me from Boise. Thanks Sharon!

20 YEAR TAG!

This is for Janell. Thanks for making me realize how old I am! ;o)

20 years ago I:

1. Was almost 11 and not as cute as I thought I was.
2. Still wondering if I would ever have a sister.
3. Loved going to slumber party's
4. Was dissed by some friends because I didn't have a 10-speed
5. Played almost everyday with Rachel Reed.

10 years ago I:

1. Was almost 21 and was cuter than I thought I was.
2. Working at Johnston & Murphy and loving it!
3. Going to Solano Community College and changing my major every semester.
4. Was figuring out how to tell my Mom I got a tatoo. (thanks again, Zach)
5. Loved going to "Glow-n-Bowl"

5 years ago I:

1. Lived in Payson, UT in our first home.
2. Barely made it through each day with a 3 year old and a 1 year old.
3. Was really getting into quilting.
4. Was afraid of buying our business.
5. Worked on finishing our basement.

3 years ago I:

1. Loved taking care of my 2 month old baby girl
2. Sent my husband to work each morning at our business.
3. Won "Best of Show" for my first entry in the Payson quilt show.
4. Enjoyed relaxing in our finished Family room.
5. Did scrapbook page samples for Scrapbook Central
6. Had no idea we would move to Springville next year.

So far this year I:

1. Finished my second semester at Weber State online.
2. Started volunteering in Radiology at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
3. Agreed that selling our business would be a good thing.
4. Made lots of improvements to our new home in Springville, UT.
5. Started a quilt pattern business with my friend Margie.

Yesterday I:

1. Called my Mom and Dad in anticipation of thier visit next week.
2. Smiled when Gilbert came home from work early, only to find out it was to go biking.
3. Made hot ham & cheese sandwiches for dinner.
4. Finished caulking the board and batten in the family room... ready to paint!
5. Talked to Margie on the phone at least 5 times.

Today I will:

1. Start painting the family room.
2. Beg Gilbert to bring home Cafe Rio for dinner.
3. Sort toys in Paris' room so cousins can find the right toys next week.
4. Finalize plans for Preston's baptism next week.
5. Try to go to bed by 10pm.

Tomorrow I will:

1. Finish my latest quilt sample.
2. Enlist the help of my children to "get the house ready to Grandma & Grandpa" aka "Clean up this house!"
3. Eat the yummiest ribs that Gilbert makes on the smoker.
4. Snuggle Paris and cover her ears during fireworks.
5. Get ready for my fishing trip with Gilbert on Saturday... without the kids! YEA!

Next year I will:

1. Be accepted into the Radiology Program through Weber State.
2. Have 2 kids in school all day. (I can't wait!)
3. Go to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary.
4. Sell TONS of quilt patterns.
5. Buy a pool! (after we get a fence, of course!)

I want to tag MELANIE!!! (now you have to start a blog! ha ha ha) ;o)

Crazy Old Ladies

We're official. Officially on the web that is. Crazyoldladiesquilts.com is up and running. It shows the patterns that are currently available. As new ones are designed we will add them to the site as well. The site is in the early stages but has all the essentials that we need. Now we're going to contact quilt shops around the country and online to see if they want to carry our product. With the website up, all they have to do is follow the link to see our stuff. If everything goes well we'll get a lot more business. If you get a minute, check it out!

New Headline Pic

So here's the deal. I tried to get the tree picture to fit in this space but since it's not in landscape format it would not fit. Here is another family picture we took in Yellowstone. You can't tell, but the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" is behind us. Off to our right was a huge waterfall. It was awesome! Anyways, not the best picture with the wind blowing through our hair and squinty eyes, but it's us nonetheless.

Wednesday's laundry

Okay, so I finally woke up and realized how absurd it is for me to pay so much for an 11 year old to come fold laundry. I guess I thought since I hated it so much that I would have to pay someone a lot to do it. Because frankly, I wish someone would pay me a lot to do it. Anyways, Gilbert reminded me that I was paying her more than we pay our mechanic and then I understood the ridiculousness of it all. Besides, am I really that lazy that I have to pay someone to fold laundry? (I don't have to answer that, do I?) Anyways, as of tomorrow my children are going to learn to do their own laundry. Ugh! Even the thought makes me sick because I know it's going to be a battle to get them to do it. (they're so just like their mother.) Oh well, at least I won't have to pay them.

We have just made history. This is a picture of Paris after her very first haircut. Yes, at 3 years old she has finally gotten a haricut. We've loved her beautiful curls and her hair just kept growing so we've left it. But as she's gotten older it's become more of a hassle to comb, shampoo, and "do". So we told her she was going to have to get it cut. This was a difficult decision to come to, especially for Gilbert. At first she was completely against it. But as we've talked about it the idea has grown on her. The final commitment came after she was offered bubble gum by her Dad. Should've known. Bubble gum always works. The other thing was that my friend Jeanne used to be a hairdresser and agreed to come to the house for this event. Paris really likes her so that was a plus. Paris was so great. She held still and moved every which way Jeanne asked her too. I even painted ther toe nails while she got her haircut so it was like a real spa day for her. We only cut about 3 inches off, which isn't much. Now it's just longer than her shoulder's in the back. It looks really cute. I am sad to say though that I think her curls will be gone after the next few cuts. But hey, if we follow this trend it'll be another 3 years before she gets another haircut and we'll get to enjoy looking at (and hate "doing") those beautiful curls. By the way, she's a very cute little princess, she just starts acting goofy when the camera comes out. Hope you like the pictures. And yes, I did still save a few locks for scrapbooking. Who wouldn't!?

home "sweat" home

Well we made it home safe and sound from Yellowstone. What an amazing place! Our last night in the park was awesome. We were able to sneak a peek at 3 different black bears within 1/4 mile right off the side of the road. Got some amazing pictures of these ones. Gilbert also went fishing in Yellowstone lake and caught a 3lb. cutthroat trout (that's a good size). He was hoping for a lake trout because then he could've kept. it. The cutthroat are native to the lake so the park wants to preserve them. However, the lake trout are not native and get big and eat the cutthroat so there are strict instructions that if you catch one you have to kill it. Gilbert imagines that because of the size of the lake (up to 430 ft deep!) that there are some monsters in there. Maybe next time he'll land a hook in one of those lake trout, but for now he was pretty happy with the one he got. The drive home was pretty uneventful. Obviously the kids didn't like being in the car so long, but they did okay considering they'd been in the car all weekend long. We were so glad to be home until we stepped in the door. Before we'd left temperatures were nice and mild. When we came home it was in the mid 90's which meant our house was in the mid 80's. Yuck! We quickly unloaded the car then called some good friends and offered to buy them dinner if we could hang out at their house for a while. It was nice to "chill" for a bit but I was tired and in extreme need of a shower. The guys had other plans. Can you believe they went fishing!? Gilbert took the two boys out to the lake for a couple hours. Needless to say, everyone slept really good that night and well into the morning. The next day vacation was over. Back to the grind. And guess what? I have about 8 more loads of laundry that need to be done. Ugh!

lions and tigers and BEARS, oh my!

Okay, so we really didn't see and lions or tigers, but we did see bears! Boy did we hit it good. We saw just about everything on our first day in the park. We were lucky enough to see a black bear hanging out next to the river, and then later on we saw a Momma and her two cubs. That was really cool! Today we saw a Grizzly bear. She was pretty far off, too far to get a picture. But she had her cub with her and we were able to watch her for quite a bit with the binoculars. We've seen lots of buffalo which I think is so cool. A couple of times they were right by the car. Also, we took a short walk to see a sulfur spring and when we came back a herd of buffalo were right on the trail so we had to make our way around them. At one point a couple of them got riled up at eachother and were snorting and jumping but we think they were just playing. We were never in any real danger, it was just awesome watching them in the wild. We've seen lots of elk. Its amazing how used to humans they are, you can just about walk right up to them and they don't even care. We drove up around Mammoth hot springs and the town near there where the elk come down every night to the town and eat the grass. It's a cool town, it feels like you're going back in time. There's a cool hotel there and a resturant/diner that feel like the 40's or 50's to me. Who knows? they could be lots older than that, but it made me think of Back to the Future. It's also where the old Fort Yellowstone is. Anyway, the elk were crossing the road so we had to stop and there was a bull calf right next to the car. Gilbert rolled down my window and I could've reached out and touched it. It kinda freaked me out a bit it was so close. We also saw a big horn sheep right off the side of the road. And every morning driving in we pass a bald eagle's nest that's right off the road. There's almost always an eagle in it, or very near by. We also saw a wolf, several coyote's including a momma and her pups. I could go on and on but I fear this is already getting boring. my dang camera! I'll get pictures on soon. Mom and Dad, we're already planning our next trip and you're coming with us!

Yellowstone

Well, we made it to yellowstone. Thanks to a bit of laziness on my part last night our 6am departure this morning was delayed until 11am. ouch! That's okay, it was a lot nicer to be laid back and not stressed out. The drive was not too bad, about 5 1/2 hours had we driven straight. however, we stopped in tremonton, UT for lunch. Then we stopped in Rexburg for a mid-afternoon snack. WOW! Has that place changed. The Rexburg temple so beautiful. We drove by our old apartments and talked about all the things we remembered. The children were not intertained, I think watching paint peel might've been more interesting for them. But it was nice to go back in time with Gilbert to where we first met. Rexburg is still in the middle of nowhere, but there's lots more to do there then there used to be. After driving another hour or so we stopped in Island Park, ID at one of Gilbert's favorite fishing spots. Apparently when he was here last year the fish were biting like crazy. Not the case this time. but that's okay, we're here a month earlier than he was and it's a lot colder. Finally we got to West Yellowstone. Our hotel is moderate, nothing fancy but it'll work. We went out to dinner at a cute little downhome type place. But in a tourist town it wasn't really down-home, especially the prices (yikes!) Anyway, we did plan ahead and brought lots of food and since our room has a kitchen we will be cooking the rest of our meals. We did have to stop and buy perishables, another 'yikes!' since milk was $5.09 a gallon. We'll be rationing the one gallon for the rest of the trip. Also, I thought I would be cute and load my memory card from the camera onto my laptop the show you some pictures of the kids fishing...but my comp. doesn't have a port for the card. I guess I should've brought the cords. ohwell. I guess you'll have to wait until I get home. It's time to get the troops in bed, lots to do tomorrow. We already saw a calf moose on our fishing adventure and a deer jaywalked in front of us on the highway (not close though). We're looking forward to seeing all the wildlife tomorrow. more to come from our adventures in yellowstone soon.

Kung Fu and Bears

Uncles Trevor and Zach gave Kung Fu Panda rave reviews when they were over on sunday, so we decided to take the kids to see it today. I was pleasantly surprised with the film. It was very cute and not at all raunchy like Shrek. The boys laughed and laughed. Paris didn't do too well. She is still too young to go to the movies. She was very tired and just didn't want to sit... anywhere. This created quite a problem for us and all the other people around. Gilbert and I managed to pass he back and forth enough through the movie to keep the disruption to a minimum. Afterwards we took Preston to "Build-a-Bear Workshop" to get his birthday bear. He has given this a lot of thought. He originally wanted an orange tabby cat with a Harley leather jacket but decided on a 'salt & pepper' gray koala which he dressed in skater gear (he even got a skateboard for it!). He named his bear "Cool Koala." Logan and Paris even brought their bears with them to visit the store where they were "born". The boys decided to sleep downstairs tonight and Paris has been asleep since the ride home. This means that I probably will not get a good nights sleep. Well I at least better try. Good night!

Day 2

Yesterday I started a blog. Today I found out my blog was... boring? misleading? empty? I guess since I only had one post some people were a bit unimpressed that there wasn't more to read. To this I say "Just you wait!" Pretty soon this blog is going to be so full of useless information about our family you won't know what to do with it. For starters, tomorrow I have a cute 11 yr. old girl from the neighborhood coming to fold laundry. I'm paying her good money to do what I hate to do. To some degree I feel pretty pathetic, but then I look at the mountain of laundry (not an exaggeration) and realize that my procrastination has made this task completely worth the money. Anyways I'm sure I can find something better to do with my time. Also, Paris has decided that since Preston didn't want a baby stroller for his birthday she is going to try and earn it by not sucking her fingers. She tried this a few weeks ago when she wanted a toy cellphone. She did really good for 4 days not sucking so be got her the phone. A couple hours later I found her on the couch with her monkey blankie, her new phone, and her fingers in her mouth. This time she has to go 10 days. I don't know who this is going to be harder for, her or me. I mean, all she has to do is not suck her fingers. I have to listen to her whine and cry everyday for a baby stroller as I try to explain for the 50th time that she cannot get it until she stops sucking. I'm not sure it's going to be worth it. The stroller only costs $6. Geez, that's like 45 minutes of laundry folding. And there you have it, we've come full circle. Stay tuned for Day 3 and more useless information. ;o)

Blogger!!

My sister Allison will be proud of my technological advancement. I could barely manage my myspace account without her help and now I've managed to create a blog all on my own. Can this be happening? Along with all the other titles I have and everything else I have to keep me busy I'm actually going to add "blogger." The thing is, after reading so many other blogs, many of them much cuter than my generic one, I decided that it was such a fun way to journal. I have to admit I haven't been to good at keeping a journal for the last um, 3 years or so. That's scary. Does my journal even know that Paris exists!? I'm afraid to look. yikes! Anyway, here it is. Our family blog. Hopefully I can keep this up. Summer shouldn't be too hard but once school starts again we may be in trouble. Oh well. Let's just focus on one day at a time, right!?