One More Post Today...

I know not very many of you will read my blog before tomorrow evening, but if you do, and you're a girl (or a boy who has ideas) please share with me any great young women activities that you have done/ would like to do. I have a big planning meeting tomorrow, and would love to take some tried and tested ideas. These can be little simple things, or big neato ones. Thank you!!

Mamma Mia!

Brandon and I went to see Mamma Mia! last night for our date... and it was about 100 minutes of fun! Brandon has seen the musical twice in Vegas, but I had never seen it. He kept telling me that it was fun, and he'd listen to the music, but I had NO idea what it was about, so I didn't have any desire to see it when we were in Vegas. Now I'm mad! I really wish we would have. Anyway, the movie was really cute... a few flaws, but we can look past those for a movie that is so entertaining. When you go see it, just keep in mind that it is a musical, and it's silly. Then... sit back and smile! Oh, also... if you're in a theatre with people who have seen it live, they may sing along and get into it. If that's going to kill you... wait and rent it.

*If you go to see this movie on my recommendation, and don't like it... too bad. I refuse to be held accountable. If you don't normally like movies I like, maybe you should skip this one. ;)

Catchin' Up With Random Thoughts

Well, I have to say that we've had a lot of stuff going on lately, and most of it hasn't been fun. Brandon is now working for a different company, selling everything but the kitchen sink to Oil Rigs... well, I don't know, maybe he does sell them kitchen sinks too! The owners of the company he was managing decided to close it down... there's a long story there, but I'll spare you.

I took Cooper to the doctor when I was in Bountiful, because his poor little arm is out of control with eczema. It turns out he has a couple of other infections on top of that, so three medications and $400 later... we're hoping it all clears up. We're enjoying spending all of our money on medical bills lately. It has been fun. Who wants to go on trips, or buy a new TV when you could pay medical bills instead?

I just barely had to run outside because Cooper was screaming. He fell out of a tree and onto a log bottom first. He'll have a good bruise, but I'm just thankful nothing is broken!

Aubrey has been away from home for 22 days... I'll let her blog about her fun experiences. We spent some time with the Howell folks when picking her up. It was a fun time, and I got to see all of my siblings, which was great! We watched Jason, Dallas, Brenda, and Geoff whoop another team in a baseball game, we played at Castle Park, I got to see everyone's new, or newly painted, or newly decorated houses, we had a girls' lunch at Applebee's, and I got to go to Taipan Trading, (and I didn't buy one thing! I'm either smart or stupid, I can't decide...), I was able to visit with lots of cousins (Tim and Bonnie and kids on Sunday, Lisa and Lori on Tuesday), the kids went swimming with grandpa, we went to Pace's Dairy Ann with grandpa for a Rainbow and Astro bars (best in the world!), I got to practice my calligraphy, we laughed until we about peed our pants with the nose taping fiasco, and a bunch of other stuff I've forgotten. And, as you can see... I forgot my camera.

I dyed my hair darker, to hide my grown out highlights. I really like it! (The new color is featured in the picture above.)

We were going to go camping tonight, but Brandon won't be home from work until 8:00, so we can't this weekend. :(

I'm so sick of traveling... I could sit in my home for the rest of the summer and be perfectly content. I would, however, love anyone to come to my house to see me! ;)

Tyler is walking a lot better now! He still has a bit of a limp, but he's getting there.

I have a serious condition called "Menu Amnesia". I can't ever think of anything to make for dinner. Is there a cure for this?

Life is crazy. Life is good.

Mikarose

Okay, I have an ulterior motive for posting this here... I get put in Rachel's giveaway twice... but I REALLY want one of these dresses! They are so cute! Go check out this website... now!

And all you girls who were with me at Fred Meyer on our girl's night out... Remember those black and red high heeled shoes I was in love with? Is this not the perfect dress for them? I'd be so hot!

Feels So Good!

I've been running more the past couple of weeks, thanks to early morning running appointments with Janice, and it has been great! Too bad Janice is moving next week. :( I'll have to get out of bed without the motivation of knowing someone is waiting for me! Anyway, the last run we ran about 5.5, and I felt GOOD at the end... like I wanted to sprint it... like I haven't felt for a long time. When I'm doing good with my running, and my body is really loving and craving it, I get this kick at the end of every run... like my legs are going of their own volition, and the rest of my body is just along for the ride. So, I felt that again! I also used to get tingles in my legs when I was laying in bed before I'd get up for my long runs, like my legs knew what was coming and couldn't wait. Hopefully that comes back too, and I might not need Janice after all!

Fishing with the Boys

We all decided to go fishing on Saturday... hoping to get one of the tagged fish! They tagged 60 fish for the two reservoirs right by us, and if you catch one, you get a prize (like a wide screen tv, which we could use, since our tv buzzes at us all the time.) Unfortunately, we didn't catch a tagged fish, and Brandon only caught one little fish. I told him I wanted one to eat, and he promised he'd get me one. That's my man! It was actually overcast most of the morning, which was really nice because it wasn't so hot. Once the sun came out, we were all ready to go home.
Since I don't have a fishing license, I was there to put worms on the hooks, sit in the ants, and read a book. It was mostly enjoyable, except for the ants. One bit my ankle.
My three fishermen... they all got some nibbles, but those fish were tricky!
Tyler wasn't happy with the bugs that were bugging him, and he was mad he didn't catch a fish. Cooper loved holding Brandon's fish and sticking his fingers in its eyes. Boys! They're gross.
Aubrey was at Melissa's, so that's why she didn't come fishing with us. (That, and she is old enough that she has to have a license, which she doesn't, which means she'd be doing the same thing I was.)

Here's the Evidence

I don't think Cooper should grow up to be a criminal. He's not very good at hiding all traces... for example, someone took my camera and took a bunch of pictures of a football... cherries... the cat... and two lovely self-portraits. Don't quit your day job, Cooper.

Debit Card Woes

I've been on the phone with the bank, and at the bank, trying to figure out how I have a charge on my debit card from Australia during the time I was at Girls Camp, so now my debit card is cancelled, I'm panicking, and I'm worried about everything now. I've been checking credit reports, closing accounts online, like paypal... anything I can think of. I hope they can figure out what happened so I don't have to live my life in a state of panic!

Welcome to My Yard

I thought since most of the people I care about won't be able to visit us this summer, I'd share our yard with you. It's mostly out of control, but there are some magical places. It has been so much fun to see what will bloom next! Here's a little oasis in the back yard. Cooper likes to go hide behind all that greenery.
These sunflowers seemed to pop up in a matter of days.
I loved this view! I had to put one of these pictures at the top of my blog too. What could say summer more than sunflowers and flags??
Here's our front porch, all dressed up for July.
Cooper is good at helping me water all the flowers. It takes awhile, that's for sure!

I have no idea why this picture is sideways, but there are a lot of hostas growing around the yard. I love them!
These beauties just popped out all over the yard the other day. What are they?
There is a patch of wildflowers in the back yard. It is so hard to take a picture that shows how beautiful it really is, but I tried anyway...
More of the wildflower patch...

These roses are right by the front porch. I love old-fashioned roses. They don't last very long, but they're sure pretty when they're here. This one grew in this perfect bunch of four.
These blue flowers are all around in spots. They're so cheery!
This is in a patch of flowers in the front yard.
Back by our unusable broken hot tub. Grrr.. I just want to get that thing out of there so we can make it into a nice little nook to sit in or whatever. Anyone know how to move a hot tub?

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of our yard! If anyone gets the chance to come see it in person, we'd love to have you! If you do come... keep in mind that I didn't take pictures of any of the weeds. Don't let them shock you... just yank 'em out!

Bear Lake and Stuff

What could be more fun that Girls Night Out? It wasn't wild and crazy, but we did have fun. We went to Fire House and ate delicious food! The waiter did forget about us for awhile, but once we got to order, all was well. Maybe he didn't forget about us... maybe we just scared him! Melissa... contemplating the menu... or life, or something.

Cassie, I'm sorry... but how could I not put this picture on here?

Hannah looked so adorable it was sickening. Her hair looked so beautiful, but she said she was going to cut it. I kind of thought maybe she shouldn't... but then she did, and guess what? She looked even MORE adorable!
Holly and Leisha... I don't know what they're smiling so big about, but apparently it's not each other!
Katie... contemplating the menu... or life, or something.

The next day we went to Bear Lake. This is the 2nd year in a row that we've done this, so I'm thinking it should be tradition. It's a great place for the kids to play, since they can go quite a ways out into the lake and still touch bottom. The picture above is Payton with a squirt gun trying to shoot the seagulls. It was so funny to watch him... I think his dad has taught him well!
Annie, Annie, Annie... how could you not LOVE those dimples? She's such an adorable smiley baby.
Haylee, Haylee, Haylee... if you can look at those cheeks without wanting to kiss them... you're weird.

I will never be able to get the order of pictures in here right, so just deal with it! Here's Great Grandpa with Brandon. They must have heard a pretty good joke. Grandpa went on a walk with the whole family earlier. At first he didn't quite know if he wanted to. I had to almost force him to come... he'd say, "Well, if I had my hat with a brim", so I ran to the truck, got one of Brandon's, plopped it on his head, and said, "Let's go!". By the end of the walk he was outwalking a lot of us, and there was a spring in his step. There's still some energy left in Grandpa! I enjoyed going to pick him up for dinner a couple of days and having him predict exactly when the seat belt beep would sound.
Back to Bear Lake... grandmas, girls, and babies... oh my!
Leisha playing with Josie and Molly. They were all SO cute!
Oh, and who could this sexy man be? Of course! MY husband. :) I didn't get any pictures of my kids, because all you could ever see were their heads way out in the water. After the lake we went to La Beau's for fresh raspberry shakes (and other flavors, of course!) It was a beautiful day!

Grandma on the swing with Molly and Josie. Those two girls were a hoot! The first day we were there they said, "Who's the Princesses?" Then they'd hug and dance around and chant, "We're the princesses, we're the princesses!"
Cassie was the chef extraordinaire for the week. She made some amazingly delicious food. Sigh. Why can't Cassie live at my house and cook for me every day?
I did a little "photo shoot" with the "princesses". I felt a little bit like a weirdo, though, because I was bribing them with smarties. I was like, "Here's a candy little girl, now come sit over here and pose for me..." See what I mean? Weird. I didn't get any really amazing shots this time, but it was fun. Someday I'll have a camera without so many limitations. And more smarties.

Put Your Lovin' On Me

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, MP3 player, etc. on shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it makes you look.

4. Title this blog what the answer to your last question is.

5. Good luck and have fun!
IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?Pain of a Troubled Life
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?Perfect Time of Day
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?This Sad Song
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?Better Days
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?Someone Else's Dream
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?If You're Ever Down in Dallas
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?Chasing Cars
WHAT DO YOU OFTEN THINK ABOUT?Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?Love Ain't Like That
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?Anything But Down

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?Don't Blink
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?Down Poison

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?Dirty Little Secret
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?Brace Yourself
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?Love Me Tender

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?Faraway Land
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO NAME THIS BLOG?Put Your Lovin' On Me

Family... Fun & Crazy

We spent most of last week visiting with almost all of Brandon's family. It was so great to see Cassie and Hannah, but I can't stand saying goodbye, knowing they're going far far away again. I just can't understand what North Carolina and Texas have over, say.... here? ;)

I'll post more pictures of our Girls Night and Bear Lake later. For now, just enjoy the picture of all these cuter than cute cousins!

Wondering Where We've Been?

I've been at Girls Camp. It was lots of fun, gorgeous weather, beautiful scenery... good times!

Cooper finished up his baseball season. He played catcher a lot of times, and he was SO cute! He was more concerned with clearing out the opponents bats than what was going on in the game, but he did get better! He was probably the biggest charmer on his whole team. I can't tell you how many times I heard people in the stands say how cute he is. We all loved his big smile and signature "thumbs up" after every good thing he did. This is Coop running into home after his AWESOME triple hit! That hit got 2 batters into home! It was awesome!
#7 ready to hit...

We interrupt the report of Cooper's baseball season to tell you that TYLER GOT HIS CAST OFF TODAY! This is the last picture of him with the dreadful stinky thing on! Here's cutie Cooper with his coaches, Farrell and Delmar. Delmar was especially awesome and helpful. Cooper lost his hat, and Delmar (on the right) gave him his hat. (He borrowed one from someone else for the picture.) He was very patient in teaching Cooper how to bat and catch! We really appreciate Coop's coaches! I coached his t-ball team last year, and let me tell you... it's not as much fun as you'd think! ;)
This was one powerful miss! We'll miss going to baseball and softball games, but it will be nice to have a break for awhile too! We'll see you next year, baseball fields!

Aubrey's Softball Season...

I had a lot of fun this season playing softball. It was my first year playing and I loved it. I played pretty good. The last few games I hit quite a few hits, I guess I finally just "clicked". But anyway, we took 2nd place in league games, and we took 2nd place in tournament. One of the best things we did was defeat the undefeated team. It rained the whole tournament, from 8 am, to 12 pm. It was tiring and kindof miserable. But we did good.

Here is my team in the dugout. Most likely cheering. That's just what we do! Here is me up to bat. I know, I look good. If you'd like to hear how I improved, ask my dad. It's his favorite thing to show and talk about. :)Here is me in right field. Nothing to say about it except that's where I played the whole season.

Well I hope I haven't bored you out too bad. See you later!

Cool People Do This Quiz

You Should Be a Manager





You're very organized, motivated, and methodical.

Fair and objective, you can see all sides of a conflict. You are a good mediator.

You are task oriented. You do well with deadlines and schedules.

And while you can be a task master at times, you're good at managing people and listening to their input.



You do best when you:



- Must have attention to detail

- Are in charge of people



You would also be a good accountant or personal assistant.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Yesterday was Brandon's 35th! birthday! He is the best in the whole wide world, and I am so glad he's mine! He gets better every year I know him. Today I'm making him one of his favorites... banana cream pie, since he's not a cake man. He'd probably think I hated him if I made him a cake for his birthday! We're also going to go to the temple together tonight. We're celebrating his birthday today, because we spent his birthday driving home for 5 hours yesterday. Fun stuff! I love you, Brandon!