Thursday, September 30, 2010

Time Flies

Yes time is zooming by and I can’t seem to get a post out. Maybe it’s because we have had company or we have been gone EVERY SINGLE week and/or weekend since July…JULY PEOPLE! Needless to say I am way behind on posts but I am bound and determined to get caught up, so here is my Utah recap…
As is my tradition, I go to Salt Lake every year for the General Women’s Broadcast. (Click on the link if you missed any of it) I get to spend time with family and friends and hear inspiring talks that make me a better person.
So this year I started with a trip up to Logan, Utah. I had never been there before but I decided with three dear friends living there that it was time to take the trip. It also gave me a chance to get my book in front of a buyer at USU.
So first things first. I met up with Cynthia (tall-blonde). We’ve been friends for seven years and she broke my heart by moving last January.
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We had the best time chatting it up until midnight in my ridiculously large hotel room. We each had our own bed to lounge on. We had some good times cruising the streets of Logan and breaking into unlocked houses that were for sale. It was awesome. I had my darn camera with me the whole time and never got one picture of us. I did however get this fabulous picture with her daughter Hannah, one of Maya’s best friends.
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First thing in the morning I got in touch with my dear, DEAR friend Jenny whom I haven’t seen in oh….20 YEARS!!!! Seriously, it was the best reunion. I. love. this. girl. She is one amazing woman, who has accomplished amazing things. It was the best time reconnecting. It truly is a gift to have friends that you can reconnect with after so long and feel like no time has passed at all. Jenny is one of those friends, she is a gift.
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Lunch time rolled around and I got to catch up with MyRandi. I call her “MyRandi” because she is more than just one of my “Mia Maids” from way back when. This girl new Aric before I knew Aric. Her mom was one of my best friends and confidants when i lived in North Dakota. MyRandi lived with us for a while so my kids think she is related to us some how. So we got to spend some quality time together. I got to see her brand new massage parlor. If you are in Logan and need a killer massage, I can hook you up!
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Then it was back to Salt Lake to hang out with my other D.E.A.R. friend Jen. She is pretty much family and love being around her and her crew.

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Friday morning I headed down south, but not with a TOO short trip to Tai Pan and a yummy Cafe Rio lunch with another fun friend Alisynn. No picture. But great visit. If there was a  competition for how many subjects that can be talked about in a 2 hour span of time we would win it. We love to talk, especially to each other.

That afternoon it was a quick stop to UVSC then off to BYU. There I met up with my hilarious cousin Ammon, who happened to make it into BYU Men’s Chorus, yeah, he rocks.

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These are some pictures from Ammon’s dorm, it’s just a peek into his ridiculously funny world.

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Later I picked up my other cousins, Monz and Lee Lee for some Training Table….mmm CHEESE FRIES and HICKORY SAUCE!!!! Then we hung out at a frozen yogurt bar (the best places EVER!) and read Dear blank, Please blanks. We laughed our heads off!

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Saturday Monz and I enjoyed some time running and then it was off for a little bit of shopping and some family photos. My Tia Ana wanted some shots of her kids for their Christmas card.

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After that it was off to Salt Lake again for the broadcast. The broadcast was amazing, as usual, and I loved every minute of being in the Conference Center. The spirit was awesome.

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After the broadcast it our tradition to head over to Tucanos for dinner and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for desert. Leah actually ate a chicken heart…yuck.

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Can I just say “Grilled Pineapple”. Is there really anything more to be said on that subject…

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Sunday morning I got up bright and early so that I could go to a taping of “Music and the Spoken Word”. Ryan (Jen’s husband) is one of the conductors of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir so I wanted to go watch him in real life instead of on TV like I usually do.

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There is NOTHING like hearing that choir in person. Every time I have heard them in person I am moved to tears. They really are that spectacular.

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So that was my trip. Every single second was filled with good stuff. My only regret was not meeting up with another good friend Kara…so sorry Kare Bear! I left my phone charger in my hotel in Logan and of course my phone died so I was without my phone the rest of the trip!

Anyway, I am so grateful for a loving husband who not only lets me go away for almost five days, but encourages me to go every year! I miss him and my kids like crazy, but it is a nice break from the daily grind. Someday I will post about my past trips, they have each been so great for so many different reasons and I really want them all documented…along with the million other things I can’t seem to post about. Someday….

*BTW My church’s semi-annual broadcast is this weekend. You don’t have to be Mormon to be inspired, comforted and taught. So you can go here to find out how to watch it.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Good-bye Summer, Hello Fall…


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I still can’t believe summer is gone. Maybe it’s because summer really didn’t start here until the middle of July…can you say LAME-O!…

Even though I’m a little bit bitter about how few days I actually got to wear flip flops and t-shirts, I am still going to dedicate  this post to Summer 2010 and the fun times we had…

Grandma Kathy Chemo Visits

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Chemo sucks and we hate that GK has to go through it, but we are grateful for the fun times that we get to have with her while she is here. One of our family’s favorite games is “Honkey Bonk”.

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It’s a game know by many names…President, Vice-Pres, etc…we made up our own version that requires silly hat wearing.
Shock Lovin’
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Our beloved Shock won the AFL2 Championship. It was an awesome season, we had a blast watching them play this year.

Our good friend Adam is the general manager and part owner of the team so he and Meg usually sit up in the owners box to watch the games. We talked them into watching a game with us down with all the crazies, it was awesome!

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We also invited some new friends, Melissa and Kevin, to experience the awesomeness of the Shock. I still can’t believe their baby Jude slept through the loudness of the championship game!

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Family Fun Fest
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We had our annual family get together. It was so full of fun that it will have it’s own post soon.

Bye Bye Blacky, Hello Silver Bullet
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Aric decided that it was time to get a truck to carry his massive amounts of carpet samples. It just so happened that our good buddy Ron was looking to sell his truck. So we hopped on a plane and went down to California to pick it up.

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Don’t worry this is not really his truck, we spotted it in a parking lot and we couldn’t help ourselves, we had to take a picture of it.

Meet Silver Bullet…

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The best part of the trip was spending time with our dear friends. Becky had baby Russell just six weeks before. Since she is a little blog challenged I will post these pictures on her behalf. I know there are a few readers that would want to see how darling these kiddos are growing up.

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It was a very quick trip but we enjoyed every minute with them. Becky inspires me, she is an amazing mom and she is adjusting to number five beautifully.  
                                          
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I couldn’t leave California without a yummy In N Out Burger…

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This picture is for you Meg…

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End of Summer Family Extravaganza!
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We usually say goodbye to summer by going to Silverwood. This year the weather did not cooperate on the days we could go, so we took the girls to another fun park that had an indoor pool instead.
We rock climbed, Maya is a natural, just like her mom;) I can’t wait to take her again!

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Eden wasn’t quite as comfortable with this activity but she still made it to the top once.


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We got to play a round of miniature golf, Aric killed us all.

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I may not have won, but I had good form.
Aric also blew us away with his bowling skillz.

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Again, good form but not good enough to beat Mr. Good at Everything.

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We had a great time with the girls. My sister was kind enough to take Mr. C so that we could actually focus on just these beauties.

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This summer flew by so fast. Every day was filled with good stuff. My days were mostly filled with keeping kids alive and well. I only had one tutoring student so I wasn’t too stressed with that. I tried to take the kids swimming twice a week so that we could soak up as much sun as possible. Most of those days I was annoyed with all the work it took, but looking back I am so glad I did it. Those hot days were few and we definitely enjoyed the heck out of them.

So hello, hello fall. I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that half of September is already over. Homework is here along with dance, piano, and soccer.

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I can no longer be in denial about it being fall. I am heading to Utah next week for my annual women’s broadcast trip…(let me know if any of you want to play while I’m in town)…I will be meeting with the BYU and UVU buyers again, and maybe if  I brave I might even meet with the buyer at Utah State. My book has been consuming a ton of my time lately, I will write about that soon too.
So there you have it. My ridiculously long summer recap.
HOLA Y ADIOS!