Poor Jenna

When we got home from taking the kids to their first day of school Jenna went into her room and a few minutes later I could hear her crying. I went in to see what was wrong and this is how I found her. I thought she was sad because the kids were back in school, but no she said "I don't want to take the kitty away". I need to back up a little to fill you all in. Remember the little kitty we "adopted," well she kept coming back and more often and now she spends most her time here on our front porch. The kids named her Rocky (because she looks like the rocks in the yard with eyes) and have become quite fond of her and she of them. The problem is Mike is allergic and it seems all of the kids except Rylee are as well. They would come in from playing with her and their eyes would swell up and be red and itchy. This morning the first thing Jenna did was go outside and play with Rocky and when she came in her eyes were so swollen and red I knew we had to do something. So we told the kids we were calling animal control to come get her. So that is why Jenna is so sad. We told her they would find her a good home where the kids weren't allergic so they could play with her. Hopefully they really do, she was a sweet little kitty.

Up, Up, and Away....

Yeah!!!! Today was back to school for the kiddos! I think we were all ready for school to start, for all different reasons. The theme at our school this year is Up, Up, and Away and this is what it looked like when we got there this morning.




This is the third year they have done a flag ceremony outside with all the students and parents to start the year. I think it is a great tradition! Today they had the 2 hot air balloons there and all the kids got a helium filled balloon to release. (to those eco friendly people out there, the balloons were all biodegradable, I didn't know there was such a thing) It was really neat to see 600 different colored balloons floating up, up and away. A beautiful sight!


The kids all ready for the first day!

Back in time...

Today was the first day of classes for the fall semester @ SLCC. I felt like I had been trasported back in time (to the fall of 1993) and I did not like the feelings. It was soooooo crowded everywhere on campus: parking, the bookstore, & just walking around. I saw all the first time college students searching for their classes and trying to figure out how college "works". It reminded me of my first day at Idaho State all those years ago, and all my insecurities and fears: will I find the right classroom, will anyone talk to me, will I do well in my classes, will the cafeteria food be ok, etc? I fear new experiences and am very insecure, but today I was feeling ok, just those awful memories of that long ago day. (I survived then and had a good experience at ISU and I am sure all those "lost" students I saw today will too).

The Zoo

Yesterday we went to the zoo with my sister, Sara and her cute little family. They are still here visiting form Las Vegas and wanted to visit the zoo while they were here and my kids have been asking to go all summer so we went, despite the heat. It was fun, I hadn't been for more than a year so there were a few new things to see. The Asian Highlands was neat and right now they have a white crocodile (1 of 10 in the world) that was pretty cool. It was fun to spend some time with my kids doing something fun. With my school we didn't get to do as many fun things this summer as we would have liked and my fall semester started today so free time is limited again.

Family Home Evening

This evening we met up with some of my family at the Church Museum of Art & History or whatever it is called for family night. They have a great exhibit for kids right now called "I am a child of God". The kids enjoyed playing games, coloring there own stained glass windows, playing in the nursery, building temples, and more.


McKay, Noah, Cole, Jenna, Mara, Rylee, Wyatt, & Eliza
Cole & Noah showing me the temple they built.
Mara & Jenna taking good care of the new babies in the nursery.

Mike's New Friend?

For those of you who know Mike you may be a little surprised to meet his new friend. She has been visiting the last 3 nights and I think Mike is growing more fond of her each night.





Mike is really not much of a cat person, actually he pretty much hates cats, at least I thought he did. This cute little yellow cat showed up late Saturday night while I was at work and Mike was outside. He gave her milk and so of course she came back. The weird thing is she only shows up at night after it's dark. We are not sure if she has a home or not. But I smiled inside when I heard the excitement in Mike's voice tonight when he told me "my little kitty is back".

Girls Day Out

Today the girls and I joined all the girls from Mike's family for a fun afternoon out. We went to lunch at Litza's in SLC, then to the Gateway to see the movie, Hairspray! It was fun to just hang out and visit and enjoy one another's company, something we don't really get to do as often as we'd like. The movie was GREAT!!! We loved it! Here is a picture of Jenna enjoying her huge ice cream cone.

Change....

So this morning we woke up to Truman barking, which is not all too uncommon, but we also heard some working machinery coming from next door (this is not too uncommon lately either). We went back to sleep and later when we decided to get up and go outside we realized they were cutting down one of the trees just west of our property line. There are 3 big trees there that are our only source of shade we thought they were staying, but I guess we thought wrong. They recently knocked down the 100 year old house just west of us. It was a neat old home but it was in need of major repair & restoration that would not come cheap. It has changed hands a few times the last couple of years and we were aware the new owners were going to develop the land. I wasn't too upset about it, but Mike is definitely not excited about it. The view from our deck changed when the house was gone and now it has changed again with the tree gone. Since they only removed 1 tree we are assumming the other 2 are staying, I sure hope so. I guess change is exciting and good, but it is a little sad as well.

Outdoor Family Fun

On Saturday we decided to head to Silver Lake (one of our favorite family hiking spots) with my parents, my sister and her kids, and my other sister's kids (who my parents were watching for a few days). On our way up my parents car decided it didn't want to climb up the canyon so we ended up stopping along the road and found a fun little spot to hang out by the river (or creek or whatever runs down Big Cottonwood Canyon). The kids had a blast! They played in the cold water, found rocks to throw & some to keep, they climbed a little, and there were some picninc tables to sit and eat our lunch. The adventure we started out on ended up totally different but still totally fun!

High School Musical 2 & Hannah Montana

These are 2 things Rylee loves. She has been waiting weeks for tonight and the premier of High School Musical 2. I downloaded the soundtrack the other day from Itunes and she has been listening to it nonstop. I am almost a celebrity in her book since I went to East High and I told her I played volleyball in the same gym they play basketball in. WOW! Her other obsession lately has been Hannah Montana. She loves watching the show and has the new c.d. that she likes making up dances to. We found out the other day that Hannah Montana is coming to SLC to do a show in October. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning, she is soooooooooooo excited!

Davis County Fair-"Free"?

The last few years we have gone to the Davis County Fair, which is a free (no entrance fee) fair. The kids wanted to go again this year, so today I took them. Of course it was fun as it usually is, but I spent way too much money. Of course the kids had to ride some rides, we got lunch there, we had to have snocone and kettle corn, and they had this yummy pineapple slush drink that was soooooooooooooooo good! I guess it's a good thing there is no entrance fee and the pony rides are free and looking at the animals and such is free or I would really be broke.


Rylee enjoying the yummy pineapple slush!
Jenna on the swings, I was surprised that this year she wanted to do the "big kid" rides, not the little mellow ones.
The boys & Jenna on another "big kid" ride!
Jenna enjoying a pony ride.

My Little Piggy!

While we were on our little trip my dad made a comment about Jenna eating nonstop. He said she would eat something & 15 minutes later ask for something more to eat & again in 15 minutes the same thing. Then when we picked the kids up from Mike's parents his mom referred to Jenna as "a bottomless pit". She has definetly been my best eater but she doesn't usually eat that much. Well, in the few days we have been home she has been eating pretty much nonstop. Extra pancakes & french toast for breakfast, eating some of my dinner after already finishing hers, and asking for a snack soon after eating a meal. It looks like she is going through a growth spurt. I was going to order her some new clothes online, but I think I better wait to see just how much she grows the next few months so I get the right size.

Ween -

One of our family's favorite WEEN songs.

WEEN @ Stubbs!

A few years back WEEN recorded a live album at Stubbs in Austin. So when we heard they were playing there we really wanted to go. Not only is it a music venue it is also a BBQ restaurant, so Mike was even more excited. The venue was awesome! It's outside and it was pretty hot, but it was great! There were so many people there, we were packed in like sardines. We always like going to their shows because there is a wide variety of people. We met lots at this show that had come from all over to see them: CA, Canada, & even Australia. That is how awesome this band is!

The Gulf of Mexico

Mike & I decided to go swimming so we stopped to buy a beach towel and changed into our suits and were soooooo glad we did. The water was like 80 degrees, it felt heavenly. Mike even swam in the water, he said it is the first time he could say he didn't hate the ocean. As we were walking out further into the water we kept seeing these fish jump out of the water. There were quite a few of them and they kept jumping up and across the water. We never found out what kind they were, but it was amazing to watch them.

A Little Vacation

So, I had my finals last Monday and then Mike & I left early Wed. morning for TX. Our favorite band, WEEN, was playing and we had buddy passes so we went. The kids spent a couple days with my parents and a couple days with Mike's parents so they all had a great time too and we didn't have to worry about them.
Since we were flying standby we had to leave really early (4 a.m.) and ended up getting there by way of LAX and 3 different flights. We didn't care as long as we got there. We went to Houston first and saw WEEN play, the next day we spent a few hours in Galveston driving around, eating seafood, & swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. Then we drove the few hours to Austin where we spent the rest of the trip. We ate BBQ, saw WEEN again, hid in the hotel with AC away from the humidity, etc. It was nice to just relax and not really have anything to do or anywhere we had to be. I even read a book, a novel, I can't remember the last time I read a book just to read and enjoy. We were having such a great time we decided to stay an extra day, beside the flights looked a little more open on Sunday. We had to leave really early again as well as go on 3 different flights to get home. This time we went through Oakland, Mike's old stomping grounds. His best friend from growing up, Jeff, still lives in Livermore. He picked us up at the airport and we went to lunch with him & his wife, and we got to meet there 2 week old son, Colin. Then we had to go back to the airport and barely made it on our flight home. (lovely CA traffic) Anyway, we had a wonderful, fun trip.

Straight A's!!!!!

I got A's in both my classes! I am so excited. I don't think I have ever worked so hard in school and I was so glad to have something to show for all of the hard work (and neglecting Mike & the kids & the cooking & the cleaning & etc). Now I have another week off before I start again. I am hoping to get a better schedule going this semester so my other priorities don't suffer as much but so I can still do well in my classes.

It's Over!!!!!

I just finished my first semester back in college!!!! I am soooooo glad my finals are over, I have been stressing for a couple weeks and it's a huge relief to be done (for now, anyway). I feel pretty good about them too, we will have to see. So now I get to do laundry, clean the house, & pack! Mike & I are leaving bright & early Wed. morning for TX! It will be so nice to have a little break and some much needed time with Mike & to relax. I can't wait to read a novel for fun, just some no brainer book to enjoy that I don't have to remember and take a test on. YEAH!!!!!

Cub Scout Camp

Cole & Noah spent Wednesday & Thursday at their first ever cub scout camp. They left each morning at 7:30 am and arrived back home around 3:30 pm. You should have seen them when they got home.....FILTHY!!!!!! They had dirt everywhere: hands, legs, faces, everywhere! I made them get right in the bath both days. They had sooooooo much fun doing obstacle courses, playing games, making things, spending money at the little trading post, etc. They were a little leary about going, but had a BLAST! They have awesome den leaders and that makes a huge difference. The only thing I regret is that I didn't take any pics of them when they got home.

Mamma Mia!

Lastnight I went to see the Broadway show, Mamma Mia with some friends. It was great!!! It is a musical written using all ABBA songs and it was so much fun! The music was great and it was rather funny as well. It was nice to get a girls night out and just relax, it has been awhile since I have done that. (Thanks Mike) There have been quite a few times I have wanted to go to performances like this and Mike isn't really too interested. The times he has gone he has enjoyed it even if he won't completely admit to that. Yesterday he told me he wished I wasn't going with the girls that he would have gone, I told him he should have told me sooner. Oh, well he missed out. I think he would have liked it. I guess next time I won't take no for an answer and just buy him a ticket.