Sunday, June 15, 2008

Brittany turns 20




June 14, 2008

Brittany turned 20 years old! For her birthday, she wanted to spend time with her family. So we met Lisa, Jeremy, Kim, Nate and Shella (and their kids) for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. The pizza there was fabulous! Brittany ordered a pepperoni pizza, had one piece and said that she was full! Her cake was a sponge cake with Spongebobs and Patricks on the top. Avery even made Brittany a "Happy Birthday" sign. There was the chalk festival going on at Gateway. Here Brittany is posing with Brandon with Spiderman.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Mackenzie turns 7!


On May 10th, Mackenzie turned 7 years old. She had a dance recital at Highland High in the afternoon of her birthday. She performed two dance numbers. Afterward, we took her to her new favorite place to eat - Rubio's. She loves the nachos there. She had wanted to go and spend the night with her Grandma Marge and also her cousins. They took her roller skating. Mackenzie had saved up all of her birthday and Christmas money for the last few years and had saved up enough to purchase a Nintendo DS. We bought her some games and a case. A week later, she had a birthday party. We ended up having 19 kids show up! They loved playing the games (especially the ones that had water balloons involved), played in the bounce house, ate snow cones and decorated cupcakes. The kids also liked the dance, dance revolution (Disney Channel style).

Monday, May 5, 2008

Moab





Moab - May 2-4, 2008

We met Michelle, Nate and cute baby Avery in Moab. We spent every day hiking.
I felt like I was doing pretty well until we hiked Delicate Arch and I had a hard time keeping up with everyone else. I don't mind walking, but it is uphill that kills me.
Both Mackenzie and Brittany wanted to walk along side Michelle and have her undivided attention. The weather was perfect and the company great. Mackenzie signed up to be a junior ranger. She had to watch a film on the park, collect any trash that she saw, and complete activities out of a workbook. Every time someone walked off the beaten path, she told them that they were ruining the soil and to get back on the trail. At the end of the trip, she got a badge from one of the rangers. The view from Dead Horse Point was spectacular. We must be getting old - at night after dinner, we just sat around watching t.v. and going to bed at a decent hour! It took awhile to figure out a place to eat for dinner on Saturday night. We went to a restaurant that served Brittany and Rich calzones that barely fit on the plate!
Mackenzie was so cute with Avery. She loved to hold her and make her laugh. On Sunday,Rich, Mackenzie, and I drove around town and saw petroglyphs. They were pretty amazing.
It was such a nice trip and take time to be with family.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

All About Mackenzie

Likes -
Math, recess
Swimming, dancing, drawing
Spaghetti, bananas, yogurt, peanut butter pretzels
Friends are Ruby, Cole and Jensen
High School Musical
Lego Star Wars

Dislikes -
Going to bed at night
Getting up in the morning
The end of recess

Mackenzie is a delight! Wherever we go, she makes friends in a matter of minutes. She loves babies and little children and is a "mother" to them. She is full of life and energy.

Savannah - April 6-10, 2008

I left for Savannah, Georgia to attend an academic conference for work. Some things I did - Our group walked a few blocks to Paula Deen's restaurant - Lady and Sons. The place was packed! We had the all you can eat buffet that was all Southern food. There was collard greens, sweet potatoes, beans with potatoes, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and pork to name a few. The only edible things were the fried chicken and the mashed potatoes. The restaurant was very over-rated. I heard that the restaurant was a lot better when Paula Deen actually did all of the cooking.

One night at dark, our group met in the hotel lobby and did a ghost walk tour. The city is very famous for the ghost sitings. We spent the next hour hearing stories of haunted houses and businesses. Our guide was a good story teller. Not only are there walking ghost tours, but I would see hearses and also buses driving people around and telling them the tales of the dead. Some stories were pretty gruesome. One story was about a woman murdered in this home which is now a bed and breakfast. This ghost likes to take women's undergarments. One woman complained that her undergarments were taken out of her suitcase and she found them strewn all the way down the hallway. Other women couldn't find their undergarments, and upon searching the house, found their bras and underwear on the Christmas tree like ornaments.

Wednesday - It was my 43rd (yes, that old) birthday! It was so weird being in a city on my birthday and not knowing anyone! During my lunch break, I was eating a sandwich in the park, and four women called one of the women' s daughter and wished her a Happy Birthday. I thought they said, "Happy Birthday" to Carol, and I ran over to them and told them it was my birthday too ! They actually sang to Karen. I was so homesick and it took all I had to finish up the conference and the trip without having to come home early! Our group toured an old home. I spent the afternoon walking through a very old cemetery and an old church.

Starting our life with "Blogging"

This year has been the first for many "firsts" for me - even though I'm 43 years old!
- I got my first gym membership.
- I filled out my first papers for a loan
- I FINALLY got my own cell phone and am learning how to text
- I got my first laptop and still trying to learn how to use it
- AND now, I am starting my own web site.

Thanks for checking us out - we will update often. See the latest on the shenanigans of little Miss "Mackenzie".