Thursday, October 23, 2008

Leaves Are One Of The Best Gifts!


Thinking I was brilliant....yes, brilliant, I called my cousin Rob's kids and made an incredible offer. I told Wyatt and Tanner that if they would come help me clean up the leaves I would give them one of my homemade calzones. I already knew that the offer would seem amazing to them as they often ask when I will be making calzones again. They LOVE them! With the prize in mind they came over.

That is where the deal crumbled.

No longer did they even think about the warm, cheesy goodness that awaited them. The only thought on their minds was..."How big of a pile do you think we can make with all of these leaves?"

I have to admit, I was curious. So, we (me included) piled those leaves as high as we could. Once the leaves were piled there was only one thing to do.....Jump in them. At first the jumping originated from running towards the pile and leaping forth in such a manner that you landed in the leaves. It then escalated to climbing the tree that we had piled the leaves under and jumping from the branch above the trees.





It didn't take long before some of the other neighbor boys showed up and joined in. We all decided that leaves are one of Heavenly Father's greatest gifts. We love to seem them burst forth in the spring, shade us in the heat of a summer day and fall to the ground and invite us to jump in.

The leaves are still in a pile. Tanner told me that "the other leaves are gonna fall and we can make the pile bigger!" How can you argue with logic like that?

The calzones are still here. Somehow, they weren't the big draw I thought they would be. Thanks for the fun boys!


Wednesday, October 22, 2008

8 Things TAG!

*8 Things Tag*

I've been tagged ... 8 Things

8 TV shows I watch ...
1- Grey's Anatomy
2- Brothers and Sisters
3- Desperate Housewives
4- What Not To Wear
5- Antiques Roadshow
6- Iron Chef
7- Flip That House
8- The news ...

8 things that happened yesterday...
1- Cooked an amazing BBQ Rib and Au gratin Potato Dinner.
2- Went to work.
3- Made delicious cinnamon bread.
4- Woke up at 3 AM
5- Cleaned my closet at 3:30 AM!
6- Laundry.
7- Listened to Sean Hannity...you should all really give him an ear!
8- Enjoyed dinner and visiting with my family.

8 places I like to eat ...
1- Ottavios
2- La Casita
3- Sizzler
4- Cafe Rio
5- Ruby River
6- Applebee's
7- McGrath's
8- Caraba's

8 things I'm looking forward to ...
1- November 5th. (No more elections)
2- Seeing the stock market regain and hold strong.
3- Christmas
4- Christmas Shopping ...
5- Seeing my Hubby tonight at work to celebrate his 20th Anniversary at Orem City!
6- Watching my kids continue to grow and learn...even as adults!
7- Seeing my grandparents again.
8- The Celestial Kingdom.

8 things on my wishlist ...
1- Chickens
2- A Chicken Coop. (It may appear that I am fixated on having chickens but....I am.)
3- Maybe a goat (the chickens need company)
4- That my sweet dog Crazy would hold on to her hair.
5- An appliance that would suck up every last hair that has been deposited in my home by my dog Crazy.
6- Gas prices below 2.50 a gallon. (I'm not asking for much here)
7- Absolute happiness for my kids.
8- No conflict. Period.

8 people I tag ...
1- Lou (Dani)
2- Boo (Bryn)
3- Christine
4- Kaci
5- Kayleen
6- Shanna
7- Kenzi
8- Joe Tuianna...just because;)

And ANYONE else who'd like :)

Sunday, October 19, 2008

TWO OF MY FAVORITE THINGS, MY KIDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY!

I love to take pictures! I don't know where this little hobby came from but I totally love it. I love it even more when the subject is my family! Dani asked me if I would take some family pictures of her, Steven and Hank (my grand-dog). I was thrilled! We went up Mapleton Canyon to a little spot Kirk and I had scouted out earlier in the week. Check out the results and let me know what you think. Dani is a little partial to the black and white, I really like the color.





















Saturday, October 11, 2008

IF YOU ARE READING THIS....YOU ARE IT!!

TAG! JUST COPY AND PASTE THIS ONTO YOUR BLOG, ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AND POST IT! i LOOK FORWARD TO READING ALL OF YOURS!

I am... CHECKING IN ON MY FAM AND FRIENDS ON THEIR BLOGS..
I think... I AM VERY BLESSED....EVEN IF THE STOCK MARKET ISN'T.
I need... TO FIND JOY IN THE JOURNEY, AS OUR DEAR PROPHET SAID LAST WEEK.
I know... THAT THE GOSPEL IS TRUE.
I want... WORLD PEACE.....SORRY, PAGEANT DAYS.
I have... AN AMAZING HUBBY, DAUGHTERS, SON-IN-LAW...ETC....
I miss... MY SWEETHEARTS BEING LITTLE.
I fear... BEING WITHOUT KIRK.
I fill... CANNING JARS WITH TOMATOES AND APPLE PIE FILLING...LATELY;).
I need... MY FATHER IN HEAVEN.
I hear... THE GARAGE DOOR OPENING AS KIRK COMES HOME FROM GETTING THAT COOL AND REFRESHING MORNING BEVERAGE.
I smell... DUTCH BABIES BAKING FOR BREAKFAST (SORRY YOU'RE NOT HERE LOU!).
I crave... DOWN TIME.
I cry... WHEN MY HEART IS TOUCHED, JOYFUL OR SAD..
I search... THE SCRIPTURES. WOW! THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF IN THERE!
I wonder... WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE WHEN JESUS REIGNS AGAIN ON THE EARTH. ACTUALLY, I CAN HARDLY WAIT!
I regret... THE FEELING THAT I DIDN'T DO ENOUGH TO TEACH MY GIRLS EVERYTHING I SHOULD HAVE.
I wish... I COULD SOLVE EVERYONE'S PROBLEMS. (THIS IS DEFINITELY A CURSE!)
I love...MY SWEETHEART KIRK, MY FAMILY, MY PUPS.
I care... ABOUT EVERYTHING....PROBABLY WAY TOO MUCH!
I always... WORRY, USUALLY ABOUT THINGS I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER.
I worry... *SEE ABOVE.
I am not... MEAN, VINDICTIVE, JEALOUS OR NEEDY....OKAY, SOMETIMES NEEDY:).
I remember... EVERYTHING! SERIOUSLY, IT IS A CURSE
I believe... IN EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD.
I sing... ALL THE TIME, AS LOUD AS I CAN, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!
I don't always... LISTEN AS MUCH AS I SHOULD BEFORE GIVING A RESPONSE (I AM WORKING ON IT!).
I argue... HMMM...NOT VERY OFTEN.
I write... ON MY BLOG.
I lose... TIME.
I listen... TO MY HUBBY AND KIDS, THE HAVE SOME GREAT IDEAS AND ADVICE.
I don't understand... HOW ANYONE COULD HURT A CHILD.
I can usually be found...IN MY CAR, TRAVELING FROM PLACE TO PLACE FOR WORK.
I need... DIDN'T I ANSWER THIS ONE ABOVE?
I forget... HOW SIMPLE THINGS USED TO BE AND STILL CAN BE, IF ONLY, IF ONLY.
I am happy... PRETTY MUCH 99% OF THE TIME.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Vivian the Fairy Princess



What an amazing few days I have had visiting my cousin Claire, her husband George and daughter, Vivian.

I first must tell you that although I have had a great desire to go visit them since Vivian's birth, (she is now almost 3), it was greatly enhanced by an email Claire recently sent.

In the subject line it said: Actual conversation in our day.

The body of the email said this;
Vivian, while picking something very large out of her nose: I'm going to keep this forever.
Claire: In our society people generally don't keep boogers. They throw them in the garbage.
Vivian: Well, in my m'aciety we keep these forever. I sticked it to your shirt.
Claire: Thank you.

After this email I knew I had to go and see Vivian's m'aciety.



Check out the pictures. Isn't she gorgeous? I had such a wonderful time reading, playing, reading and reading some more with her. I had found an adorable fairy outfit for her and she loved it. I think she put it on at least once a day while I was there.


















What did I come away with after this visit?

Enjoy the moment
.

I cannot tell you how many times I was reminded of something one of my daughters did when they were young. I found myself wishing for that time in my life again, even if just for a moment. Just to hear the squeals of laughter, the giggles, even the sniffles accompanied by tears. How often I thought "I can't wait 'till they grow up." I couldn't have been more wrong.

Thanks Claire, George and mostly, Vivian, for letting me invade your space and time, for humoring me and for letting me enjoy some of those beautiful moments that can only come when playing with a child. I will be eternally grateful!