Happy Independence Day

Today, while we were waiting for the Hyrum City Parade to start (we attended with my family), I was contemplating the 4th of July and what it means... as I was thinking about it, the parade started, and the National Guard marched by with the American Flag. I was touched as I watched it passed and I remembered how grateful I am for the freedom that I have been blessed with. I love this picture because I have always loved the Statue of Liberty and the dreams and the freedom that it represents for the American People. I admit that at times, my life gets hectic and I fail to think about and be grateful for our freedom and for the people who are risking their lives to preserve that freedom. I am grateful to have been born in the time and place that was chosen for me and I am grateful for the wonderful country (despite the problems) that we live in. Happy 4th of July!!

Scentsy Candles

What is it? A wickless candle? How do you use it? You take the warmer (such as this one, which I purchased), stick the wax in, and let your nostrils fill with a wonderful aroma that won't burn down your house if left unattended! My cousin's wife, Heather, brought her stuff to our girly weekend. Within the first few minutes, I was S-O-L-D, sold! The scent currently in my wickless candle burner - French Kiss! A very sweet smell that Nate even likes! If you haven't checked them out, do it!! Your home will never smell the same again!! (And I mean that in a good way!)

Girly Weekend

This last weekend, I went up to Island Park with my mom and two of my sisters for a girly weekend with my aunts and cousins from my moms family. It was so great to reconnect with my cousins, some of which I haven't seen for years. We had some funny conversations, ate a whole lot of food, and had a great time! Thanks aunties for putting that great weekend together, and a special thanks to aunt Becky for letting us use her beautiful cabin!!

The Fire Rainbow

This beautiful image was sent to me in an e-mail and I wanted to share it with the rest of you. It is called a Fire Rainbow and the image was taken on the Idaho/Washington Border. Here's some science facts for you: the clouds have to be cirrus, at least 20K feet in the air, with just the right amount of ice crystals and the sun has to hit the clouds at precisely 58 degrees.

Anyway, I just thought this was too cool to keep to myself! Enjoy!

What A Crazy Week It Has Been

This week has been full of so many exciting events (okay, exciting is kind of stretching it) and there are some that I can't not talk about! So, we'll start at the beginning!

Monday: I get up, exercise with my sister in law, take a shower & walk out the door for work! I unlock my car, sit down, and looked at my key... This is what I saw...



Yup! Snapped right in half! I never knew that was possible! Needless to say, I was late to work on Monday but am now sporting a brand new key that is still in one piece!

Tuesday: Fairly normal day!

Wednesday: Typical day at work, hanging out with Nate's family, working on some projects... and then James Howard knocked on our door... I know you're all dying to find out who James Howard is... he is a very convincing salesman! Nate answered the door along with our two nephews and then he disappeared... ten minutes later he still hadn't come in, so I looked out front - not there... I looked out back... not there... I went out the garage and yup, there they were! I took a look into Nate's beautiful eyes and I could see that he was sold on the product. I was holding my 1 year old nephew, Jack, and as soon as he saw me, James immediately decided to dazzle me with his product - however, before he got too close, I was skeptical until the salesman told me that I reminded him of Oprah Winfrey (I'm surprised that none of you have made that connection yet - I've been trying to tell you for years), at that point, I turned around and came back in the house... Nate came in 5 minutes later and this is what we purchased...


ADVANAGE "THE WONDER CLEANER"
It is guaranteed to last for 4 years (clearly James underestimates how messy I can be), it smells like oranges and it is completely non-toxic... we've just got to get a squirt bottle (can you believe, after 8 1/2 years of marriage we don't have a decent squirt bottle) so that we can dilute it and make our house sparkle...

Thursday: Again, fairly normal day at work, a wonderful few hours spent at Enrichment and when I pulled in the driveway I was told to come to the backyard to see something... I'm not one for surprises and was afraid Nate was trying to do something funny, but right there, in one of the bushes, was a birds nest with 5 or 6 baby birds in it... I took out the camera and snapped some photos (which I promise I will post soon) and then left them alone because their protective mama bird was getting pretty nervous that we were so interested in them...

As you can see, our week has been more eventful than normal... but how often do you get to see a broken key, get told you are an image of Oprah Winfrey and have baby birds in one week?

Top Ten Reasons Why I LOVE The Summerfest!

1. Warm summery weather!
2. I get to go on a date with my Nate! Even if we go with people, we end up browsing booths by ourselves, which I love!
3. Chicken Artichoke Crepes!
4. Creative booths!
5. The Summerfest is a People Watcher's heaven!
6. Live bands!
7. Running into friends, old and new!
8. Kettlecorn & cotton candy!
9. Overpriced home decor!
10. AMAZING photography booths!!

The first photography booth that we stopped at was the booth of Emerson Matabele... did any of you see it? His art work was beautiful and it spoke to me on an emotional level. Nate was so sweet and let me buy a couple of small prints, and as we were paying, Mr. Matabele came up, looked through the prints we were buying, and threw in a fourth one for free! If you didn't get a chance to see his booth, check out his website at www.emersonimages.com, and enjoy the amazing photography!!

Thou Shalt Not Covet

So, I was playing with my niece this morning, holding her and playing with her, and my sweet Rascal got a little jealous! After many attempts to get my attention, this is how she finally won it!! She jumped up on my shoulders and made herself comfy! Nate & I will be in trouble when we finally have kids... but it does feel nice to be so loved!!

I'm Addicted...

To Spinach Artichoke Dip! I've just added another "to do" on my list for the summer... I want to learn how to make this fabulous dip! I know, some of you can probably just say the words and it will appear, delicious and tasty, but I'm not as magic as you are! If you have a tried and true recipe for this yummy snack, I beg of you... please, please share and help me cross something off of my "to do" list!!

Such Talent... and Sweetness!

As you know, from my previous post, it was a pretty lazy and uncomfortable weekend for Nate & I last weekend... well, one day, we were bored of sitting and just watching T.V., so we pulled out a Henna Tattoo Kit that I had bought a couple weeks before... and the picture above (of my ankle), is what my oh so talented husband freehanded on my foot! (Note the sweet I "heart" U as well). Anyway, I just wanted to share his talent with you all! This post, however, begs the question: what do you do when you are sick and bored out of your mind?

Frustrated

Does anyone else correlate the beginning of Spring with the end of all the Winter illnesses? I see the flowers start to bloom and any thoughts of colds or flus dissipate from my mind. Well, this year, I dissipated too soon! It is May 31st, for crying out loud, why am I sitting here dealing with the flu? I've got the aches, the stuffy nose, the sore throat... I've got it all! Aren't the Spring & Summer months supposed to be virus free?

I've Been Tagged - Enjoy!

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Graduating from High School!!
2. Supporting Nate as he began his first job!
3. Going to Senior Ball in my gorgeous dress!!
4. Moving into the "Relief Society Life." I was so scared of all the old ladies!
5. Pampering my new kitty, Rascal!
5 things on my to do list:
1. Eat dinner! Pizza is on it's way!!
2. Laundry!
3. Jackson Video!
4. Re-read Twilight series to prepare myself for 4th book in August!!
5. Put the dishes away!
5 favorite snacks/food:
1. Spinach & Artichoke Dip, and chips to go with them!
2. Brownies!
3. French Fries!
4. Movie Theater Popcorn! Yumm!
5. Jamba Juice Smoothies!
5 things I would do if I was a billionaire:
1. Pay off all of our bills!!
2. Adopt lots of babies!
3. Start a Deaf School!
4. Buy a plane so that I could see my nephews & nieces whenever I wanted!
5. Put what I need to be financially secure in to savings & give the rest to charity!
5 bad habits:
1. Taking showers that are way too hot for my dry skin!
2. Starting projects but getting bored of them in the middle and putting them away unfinished!!
3. Watching too much T.V.
4. Procrastinating!!
5. Comparing myself to others.
5 places I have lived:
1. Burley, ID
2. Logan, UT
3. North Logan, UT
4. Hyrum, UT
5. That's it!!
5 people I tag:
1. Brynners
2. Amanda
3. Carissa
4. Erica
5. Kristal

The Jackson

For Memorial Day Weekend this year we headed over to Jackson to spend the weekend with the VZ's and the Duts! We always have a great time when we go to The Jackson (as it has been so lovingly dubbed as it has been going on for a few years) and we are grateful to the VZ's for their wonderful hospitality and for providing a great time, as always! Saturday afternoon was filled with a very hip and cool Mountain Men Rendezvous (for the girls, the guys stayed back & played video games) and then we went and participated in a little party at the Bar J Wrangler Ranch! It was a great time! Good food, great talent and lots of laugh! Sunday we went to church, played a whole bunch of Guitar Hero, played at a park and ate a tasty dinner made by Jacks! Monday was spent lounging and cleaning up and then we went to lunch at our favorite Jackson Restaurant (thus far), Sidewinders! We then headed home to rest & relax before starting the week! (Sorry all, that was a little "journalish" but sometimes you just have write that way!) We had a great, great time and it was hard to come home! Thanks again VZ's for the wonderful time! Love Ya!

Sunsets Are God's Way of Telling Us that He Loves Us

When we were at the park the other night, we were graced with this magnificent sunset. I have always been a big fan of sunsets, they are beautiful and awe inspiring, and every time I see one I am reminded of God's power and love for His children.

And I Say To Myself... What a Wonderful Week!!

So, Nate's sister came home for a week with her family and we spent a lot of time playing and snuggling and laughing and cooing and I took a lot, a lot of pictures! We ate lots of yummy food, played at the park, and stayed up a little too late, but it was a great time! If you want to see more pics I posted some on my photo blog!

Southern Style Brinner

Yumm, Yumm, Yumm! My sister-in-law, Ollie, is from Arkansas. That's in the South. You know, in the South, where they cook like they were put here on the earth to fill our bellies with tasty goodness. In 2005, we took a family trip to Oregon where we stayed at a Beach House for a week - but that is not the point of my post. It was in August of 2005 that I first tasted Ollie's homemade biscuits and chocolate gravy? Yes, you heard me right, CHOCOLATE GRAVY. It tastes like a little piece of chocolate heaven. Well, last Wednesday, I was reminded of the goodness that is chocolate gravy when we decided to make some impromptu brinner (Scrubs lingo for eating breakfast for dinner). Ollie was willing, and, I dare say, excited to do some cooking (I'll never meet anyone who loves to cook as much as she does, or who is as good at it). We corralled the babies, pulled out the pans, and had a proper brinner complete with homemade biscuits and chocolate gravy, bacon (not cooked by myself, I've already learned my lesson with bacon), my hash brown & egg specialty, and Ollie's chocolate banana shakes! It was, I daresay, the best brinner that I have ever had! Good food, lots of laughing, full bellies and leftovers!! And, oh, that chocolate gravy! If you ever get a chanced to taste chocolate gravy made by someone in the South, TAKE IT, I beg of you. You will never look at biscuits and gravy the same again! (But stay away from Ollie, she's my personal chef! You must look for your own!)