The Gold Family

[Shabby] Apple a Day

2010-03-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

2010-01-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

OH MY GOODNESS. I didn't realize it has been that long since I last posted. I gave myself a video camera for Christmas so I take a ton of video now and few pictures. I've got to get back on here!

New picture

2009-11-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

This post is so I can show mom where I put the picture she let me take. I've known this picture my whole life. It's nostalgic but I didn't appreciate it until recently.

Marta's new baby is SO CUTE!

2009-11-29T18:20:00.000-08:00

We LOVED Marta's new little baby girl. Ava. Her first child. She is just 3 weeks old I think. I got to bottle feed her and I loved it! Sweet, sweet, sweet. The kids really loved her and wanted to hold her and Laci followed her around.

Awards ceremony for PTA Relfections Art Contest

2009-11-29T18:06:00.000-08:00

I would've labeled this post, "Brigham's Major Award", but it would be unfair to Laci who recieved a certificate of participation. Brigham won 1st place in his age division for visual arts. He won a trophy which was no doubt one of the most exciting moments of his life thus far. Brigham had just told me the night before that he wanted to win a trophy so bad. He had no idea it would happen the next day. He's just had this child-like obsession with wanting to win something. It stems from the fact that Nephi often comes home from races with all sorts of awards including trophies and it's made Brigham for some victory in something....anything. The picture above is my favorite. It shows Brigham after he recieved the award and he can hardly contain himself. It was so fun to see him that excited.
Brigham's artwork goes to the next level for judging now. Eventually we'll know how that goes I guess.
Laci is on the front row wearing the polka dots. She won a certificate of participation. Laci could almost not have cared less. I pretty much had to force her to enter the contest in the first place and she was not jealous AT ALL when he placed higher. They are so different. :) I was proud and excited for just the same though.

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

Ready to head out....
Regarding the costumes: I didn't want to fork out the money to buy expensive costumes. Also, the kids have dress ups at home so I had an idea. I told the kids weeks ago that they had the option to wear stuff that they had around the house already and I would pay them $4 each. They thought it was the greatest thing I'd said in a long time. So I pay them $4 bucks, but I'm saving at least $30 bucks! Genius, heh?! P.s. if you can't tell, Brigham was a ninja and Laci was a fairy!
Brigham sorting all of his candy afterwards. Check out the amount of candybars!! When I was a kid we were lucky to get 2 or 3 minis and now it's all they get! He even recieved two full size. Who in their right mind would buy a case of full size candy bars to hand out to strangers?

Before and After bathroom remodel

2009-11-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

This is my master bath" before the remodel. It's a really cramped space with original tiled countertop and badly (my fault) re-glazed (originally baby blue) sink. The original (1969) tiled shower is a cave. The grout was really stained when we moved in. I previously regrouted over the top to give it a fresh look and the new grout is beginning to peel off. The pergo floor has gaps in the boards allowing water to seep through and the shower threshold has gaps in the grout that had let water seep through for who knows how long.......

The old tired sink.

Redone!!! It's still a small bathroom of course but we had the shower wall taken out so now it's a nice big shower with a more open feel. I shopped for very contemporary tile and I really like this. The pictures really don't do the bathroom justice. The porcelain shower tiles have almost a grass like pattern. Very zen I suppose. The floor tiles are called "Urban steel" and they have a bit of a metallic feel and sheen. Very cool. I purposely bought a vanity that wasn't as deep to give a little more floor space and we got a taller toilet. It goes out into the space more than I'd hoped but there's no way to take away the fact that it is simply a small bathroom. I think this is a real improvement over the old. I can see in the picture that the tile still needs to be wiped down more and I'll be sealing the grout in the next couple days.

Magic on a Saturday afternoon

2009-11-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Laci refusing to come down for a while. She was nervous! I convinced her to come sit and we would go stand away as soon as it got scary.

The magician in the guillotuine. I seriously wonder how dangerous this really was. It felt pretty lame when it was all said and done, but Brigham and Laci bought the danger of it.

Just a few people gathered at the Ogden ampitheater downtown to see the magician do a few tricks. More people did come as the show started. This was a real low key performance. The magician was celebrating Houdinis birthday and I guess all magicians in their national organization are supposed to perform an escape that day to honor the memory of Houdini. Nephi was gone at a race so this was a fun little distraction.

Laci's Halloween party

2009-11-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

(The photo comments are publishing all wierd so for whatever reason they're all stacked at the end of the photos)

This litte girl, Lexi has this obsession with wrestling Brigham to the ground. Luckily he likes a good wrestle because she was relentless!

Oh....so cute! I had made Halloween cupcakes for Brigham's party then froze some for Laci's party the week after but when I tried them they were gross...did not freeze well. So off to the store for treats. The kids are clearly easy to please. They all thought push pops were awesome. Some of them were seeing them for the first time. I thought EVERY kid knew what a push pop was.

The girls doing their crafts. They painted unicorns and rainbows. How fitting, huh? This little girl in the front is only 3 years old. Her older sister is Laci's friend and feels sad that she gets left out of things, so we invite her along to anything. So cute!

This party was another success! I'm not going to lie. I patted myself on the back after pulling off two Halloween parties for my kids. I hope they remember that I really try.

Brigham's Halloween Party

2009-11-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

Lots of Wild fun.
Afterwards my kids said they'd had a good time and I think all the friends went home happy so it was a success!

Our crafts. The kids painted monster figures and made "smores" Frankensteins and Draculas. The boys were so funny. They literally entertained themselves spontaneously. As they painted they took turns standing in front of everyone and retold their favorite Halloween story. Really, they were giving us blow by blow accounts of their favorite cartoons! Hilarious!

EXTERRA trail run and USA Championships

2009-09-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a gorgeous fall day at Snow Basin ski resort.

We ended up missing Nephi running in by 10 minutes. He ran the half marathon trail run. It was a very uphill course but compared to his usual ultras, he thought it was pretty manageable.

The BIG event of the day was the EXTERRA USA Championships for the triathalon. Now that was fun to watch. This was the transition point for when they hop off their bikes, throw on their running shoes and take off. It was a lot of fun to watch. I was mesmerized by it all and stayed cheering until Brigham told me everyone else was tired of waiting for me and we had to leave. I decided right then and there that if there's anyway I can volunteer next year, I will. I wanted to jump over the barrier and start handing out the water. Maybe next year.

Today seemed to be a BIG day for Ogden athletic events. I passed a bike race in downtown (tour de France style) and also a kayaking event when coming through Ogden canyon. Boy, if I was the outdoorsy type, my new hometown would be heaven on earth! :)

First day of Kindergarten

2009-09-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

Waiting in line for the first time! She was nervous but went with no problems!

Ohhhh.....so cute.

Taking the Front runner train to downtown Salt Lake

2009-09-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

We mostly visited Temple Square and the visitors center.
The kids really
liked it.

Of course Laci took a turn with the camera.

The train was very exciting for them. It cost only $10 total for us roundtrip. BARGAIN.

misc. photos

2009-09-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Laci took this one of me pulling weeds.
Laci loves close ups.

Brigham and Laci with the Guevarra kids at their house. I babysat them this summer. We loved them.

Anybody want an apricot?

2009-07-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the elementary playground this evening. They were basically begging. So anyhow, we were there and we saw a tree that had signs on it. It was in a neigboring yard with tons of huge branches hanging over the fence (someone really needs to prune that tree). We decided we needed to find out what the signs said. Brigham thought right away that they would say "something bad". So we got to the signs and they were basically encouraging people to pick the fruit. They clearly had WAY more than they could handle. We were so excited and ran across the school yard to scrounge bags out of the car. The limbs hung so low that Brigham and Laci could easily reached and as you can see we got quite a few and there were still a TON left on the tree! Once we dumped out our bags at home I realized that I didn't know what to do with them all. So I called grandma and she told me how to make apricot jam and we talked about fruit leather. I have so many memories of grandma and her jam so it was fun to call and get her advice. Man, I love grandma. So I think on Monday I'll work on that. I just don't know what containers I'll put it in....

Our annual (well at least 2 years running) Lagoon weekend

2009-07-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to host a bbq in my back yard. It's not very often I have so much family visiting!

Going for a walk. On our walk it started downpouring (we WERE NOT very close to home) and we had to run all the way home. Everyone including the kids were laughing so hard and running that we all agreed it was the funnest "walk" ever. Even the littlest baby Brooke was really wet! She was too surprised by the commotion to even cry!

What a cutie!

Getting ready for pictures.

Laci loves taking pictures now. I'm holding Brianna. My brothers daughter.

Grandma with ALL of the grandkids!

Lagoon

2009-07-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

No way. Out of our whole trip to Lagoon these are the only photos I took????

Snowbird

2009-07-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

We all went to Snowbird last weekend. Nephi ran the Speed goat 50k. I was going to go with him and leave the kids with Nephi's parents but when we thought about it, it just made more sense to take them with us. Geez, they love hotels. They'd move into one if they could, why not take them. I've never seen a hotel like the ones at Snowbird. It's like they've built them to survive an avalanche. Concrete everywhere. But actually really beautiful. Everything is on a grand scale. The kids loved the pools and here we are exploring in the morning while Nephi's out running. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of Nephi's race. It was a long hot day and I had my camera in the car by the time he finished. There wasn't much to see at the finish. But Nephi did great. I was really proud of him.

2009-07-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

I was determined that we were going to ride the tram with kids panicking or no kids panciking. We went while Nephi ran. The kids really did fine and it was an amazing view at the top. Quite a long way up the mountain.

The view of the hotel upon reapproach. How magnificent! Right?

What a view. This is at the top. Poor Laci couldn't find her sunglasses. (They were in the car) Nephi's race actually came through this spot. You can see why it's considered possibly the hardest 50k in the world. They started and ended back at the bottom folks. shudder...

Oh yeah, let the good times roll!

2009-07-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

2009-07-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

2009-07-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with grandpa in the backyard.

2009-07-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kids!

2009-07-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

The kids really wanted to go to Chucky Cheese for their birthday. Laci turned 5 and Brigham turned 7. Once again he couldn't handle the idea of Laci having a birthday before him so they celebrated on the same day, which was Laci's actual birthday.And boy did they have a good time. Brigham brought Hayden Johnson and Laci brought Gracie Hassell. Yes, they rhyme. People even coincidentally asked if they were twins. I couldn't get pictures of the boys there because I had to spend every minute with the girls or they'd get nervous. But they all had a FUN time. The kids thought the pizza was the best they'd ever had (It was actually worse than frozen pizza) and remember it with nothing but the fondest feelings.

Opening presents at home. Thank you everyone who gave them presents! Boy did they have a good birthday! Can you see Laci's excitement as she opens her unicorn?! She even picked it out the week before and yet her joy was still full. Brigham is opening up a wolverine. Of course he loved it. Actually, he picked it the week before also...

I thought that I would surprise them this year with some decorated cakes but they insisted on decorating them themselves. Hey, why not. So here they are with their respective cakes. Laci has a princess cake with crown candles and tons of sprinkles and Brigham has a whole fleet of pirates including boat, treasure chest, and swords! They had so much fun. Maybe this will be our tradition for awhile.

Midnight project

2009-06-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

I've got my bowl of chips and salsa out still. You can't work at midnight without snacks.

This is the "before". I uploaded them out of order.

I literally did this project at midnight. I got home from work and some b-day shopping for the kids at 10:15pm and I needed my "down" time. So after browsing the internet for awhile I remembered I had these wall decals that I ordered a couple of years ago and still hadn't used. I looked through the blik website to brush up on the installation skills and got right to work! I think I really like it. Man, I get more done at midnight sometimes than the rest of the day!

2009-06-17T09:31:00.001-07:00

Visiting the trains

2009-06-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

The Olympics car

Climbing trains

An old caboose

Fountain in front of the Union Station

This is actually why we went to the Union Station yesterday. This new movie coming out in November is doing a cross country train tour. They had an entire train that you could walk through and see how they made the movie, costumes, special effects. Just a big promotional gig. It looked like it would be fun. I hadn't seen a lot of advertisement so I thought the crowds would be fine. NOT SO. The line to get in was 3 HOURS LONG! Sorry, not interested. So we settled for a picture in front of the train. (The kids couldn't care less if we went on the tour.) Instead we visited all the trains they have parked on the side of the station. This was a big hit. It was Laci's second time. Gina, when you bring the kids up. I want to take your kids here. They'd love it and it's just downtown Ogden.

Raining like crazy

2009-06-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

According to the weather report it has rained 9 out of the last 11 days. What is this, Portland? It's getting REALLY old. There's been so much water in such a short time that in some places it has become a problem. My yard is full of mushrooms. We have to keep checking on the drainage from the gutters. So far seems to be alright. Tomorrow night Nephi's parents are staying with our kids and Nephi and I are staying at the Marriot downtown. Just for fun. The arts festival is on Saturday and I'd imagined what a fun time it would be strolling the festival (minus the kids) on a sunny day. Don't think that's going to happen now since it's supposed to pour on Saturday. Oh well. Regardless of the weather it will still be a fun mini get away. The kids are so excited for grandma and grandpa to come. By the way, I forgot to mention that they're celebrating their upcoming birthdays with them while we're gone. Brigham practically cried himself to sleep because he's so excited and was just so frustrated he couldn't instantly fall asleep. He wants morning to come NOW!

Awesome air show

2009-06-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

When we moved to S. Ogden I knew one of the perks would be living close to the air base. I've always been a HUGE fan of air force aircraft and love air shows. When we lived in North Dakota we even left church early with friends to drive an hour to the show at the base there. So to live one freeway exit away from one is very cool for me. We went to the show on Saturday afternoon and managed to get up close on the bleachers. It was AWESOME! All kinds of stunt planes, jet fly-by's, and demonstrations. One of the the most amazing things believe it or not was watching a huge C-17 land right in front of us. It's enormous and yet uses very LITTLE space on the runway. It just comes right to a stop like it's no big deal. And then it just backs up and heads off. Unbelievable. I really wanted to stay for the Thunderbirds but of course before they could fly the kids were crying and starving (we will be better prepared next time) so we had to leave. I was disappointed. BUT, today was day 2 of the airshow and I knew the Thunderbirds would be flying at around 4pm-ish. All during church I could hear jets flying overhead and it was making me crazy but I kept telling myself I was where I'm supposed to be and I just let it go. But when I got home, I was on the lookout. And what do you know.... The Thunderbirds IN FORMATION came over the hill, very low, and flew right over me!!! They were so close I could easily see the birds painted on the bottoms. When they reached my house they all turned to the left and flew off that way. I was ecstatic!!! Then a few minutes later I could hear the roaring and I ran back outside and they came from behind my house and headed off. This was as good as being at the airshow. A show with no traffic to deal with! I saw the Thunderbirds in North Dakota so I was alright with not seeing the actual show . This was good enough. For the next hour they flew back and forth and all around. But never as close as the first two times. It was fun. I took a little video on one of their pass overs. They are quite high on that pass but I didn't have my camera when they flew low.

Ahhhhh......I love Ogden.

my house in early summer

2009-06-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

I post these mainly for my mom who hasn't been able to make it up since I moved in last fall. I've been hard at work on the landscape. Cleaning it up, manicuring, planting, etc. It is a far cry from when we first moved in. It was very unruly back then which didn't seem appropriate for the style of the home.

Brigham's Opera

2009-06-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the show to begin.

These pictures don't show it, but Brigham really got into the production. He was acting right along with the best of them!

Having fun before the show.

getting his "stage makeup" on. Brigham surprisingly didn't mind this at all.

The Utah opera company sponsors the 1st grade opera every year. The kids write it themselves and the company sets it to an orignal score. At first Brigham was nervous about the whole production but eventually it became a big deal to him. I bought a dvd of the program that somebody put together.

Looking to the future.....

2009-06-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

Laci heading off to her last day of preschool.

cathing up A LITTLE

2009-05-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

I know it's been too long since I've written. I'm far enough behind that I can't properly even catch up. So here's a quick catch up.....
Today was Brigham's last day of school. It was an exciting day for him. He could hardly believe that summer started for him this afternoon. I was happy for him and especially proud when his report card came home with entirely perfect scores. He's such a great kid.
Laci finished preschool last week. It was sad (for me, happy for Laci) as I walked her to her school for the last time. I just kept thinking how this was the last moment in time I may ever have a preschooler. In mere seconds she would go in the door and that would be it, I would never walk my preschooler to class again. It made me want to cry. I even video taped that final time as she walked to the door. It was such a big moment for me I had to capture it. So anyhow, much to Laci's delight she's been enjoying summer break for a week now and is looking forward to kindergarten next year. That's a whole other emotional can of worms in my future. Moms, you know what I mean. It's so great to watch kids grow up and it's so heart wrenching at the same time when you realize you're living moments that will never come again.

I started working at an in-home daycare last week. It's going pretty good. I could already tell stories but it's late at night and I'm too tired. My kids get to come with me which is so nice. They get a little antsy but so far they're doing great. The 1 and 2year olds are so stinkin adorable that my kids absolutely love them. And the love is mutual. I hope they'll continue to enjoy each other. Brigham especially loves to play with babies. I know. I know. I should have another one myself. Sorry. Probably NOT going to happen. I think we're all getting our baby fill through work. As much as I love my own babies it is too awesome to be past that exhausting and tedious baby stage. The girl I work for loves me so much she wants me to stay for a LONG time but I've already told her I'll have to stop in the fall. The kids go to a school in a different part of town and I'd have no way to pick them up. So for the summer we'll just keep at it. It's nice to make a little money. I haven't been able to do that for a long time. For that reason alone I wish I could continue in the fall. I just don't see how I could.

I'm going to Idaho Falls tomorrow. Leaving at noon-ish with the kids to hang out with Kim's family. Should be a nice time. Nephi will come up later with his mom. They have to pick up Gary at the airport. Gary was in Virginia with Frank (Nephi's brother) who just moved out to Virginia.

Still loving South Ogden. It seems to be really a good place to live. I've constantly impressed with the opportunities that are available to us. Just not used to that. Still LOVE the house. I've been working in the yard almost daily since spring came months ago. I'm not an artist but I've decided that landscape is my creative outlet. It truly feeds my soul. Ever since we bought our first house years ago I've considered yard-scaping one of favorite past times. I'm constantly thinking, planning and revising ideas and options.

Looking forward to the summer.....

my letter to a friend.

2009-05-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

This is a letter I sent to my friend Kim today. I realized while I was writing that I'm updating her better than I'm updating my blog so I decided to just post the letter. I don't think Kim checks my blog often anyhow. She may never know!

Hi! Thanks for the card! That was such a fun surprise. When I read it I was touched and I also immediately thought."Wow, Kim's getting sentimental in her old age!" ha ha! I loved it.
I had a great Mothers Day. I didn't have to teach at church. Nephi made me us breakfast, helped more than usual at dinner, and I was pretty much lazy all day and Nephi didn't get mad at that. I loved it! I think this is the first year I've ever thought that Mothers Day was all it was cracked up to be. I ended up buying myself Crest White Strips for my present. A friend in the ward mentioned she was getting teeth whitening for her gift and it seemed genius to me. When can you ever get teeth whitening and not feel guilty for the expense? Well, white strips are pretty reasonable and I checked the reviews on drugstore.com and they were overwhelmingly good so I felt it was a safe bet. On the second day I used them I was overzealous and used two sets of strips right in a row. I fried myself. My teeth hurt so bad!!! I even went to the store and bought sensodyne and that didn't help. Today the pain had subsided so I started up again. I'm seeing results already and I think I still have 4 days left.
Today was a warm, overcast day. Nephi worked on sprinklers and trimmed a huge evergreen we have. I mowed a little. I love yard work days. The backyard behind me is irritating me so bad! They DON'T mow their lawn! There are patches of grass 2 feet tall! UGH! It wouldn't be so annoying but our yard looks DIRECTLY into theirs if you remember. I found on KSL classifieds that someone is selling 45 feet of those privacy slats that you can put through chain link. I've already called them and planning to buy them. I hope it looks o.k. It won't be enough to go all the way across but we're going to center it on the fence and hope it's not too tacky. Brigham plays with the little boy from that yard. You should see it, they play hide and go seek through the fence! Who would've thought it was possible but they do it....and have a great time! So I still want them to be able to see each other but we won't have to look at all their crap lying around.
Frank has been applying to different jobs in places such as Colorado, California,Texas, and Virginia. He was offered positions at all those places but they picked Virginia! They'll be there in a month!!!! Crazy! I'm excited for them though. Kate's never had real adventure in her life. It will be good for her. I think Susie is trying to put up a strong front since she's realized that she shouldn't get dramatic and emotional on her kids when they're trying to make something of themselves. But I really do feel for her. If it was me in her place and it was Brigham moving across the country I'd be bawling too. At least she's got more kids that are closer than Virginia. That's the perk of having a lot of kids. I'm doomed for lots of heartbreak down the road no doubt when my TWO kids go off into the world. I'll be wishing I'd had more then.

P.S. So You Think You Can Dance starts in two weeks on the 21st! Happy Day!
Talk more later! Lillian

He finally lost his first tooth.

2009-05-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Brigham has been suffering with his loose tooth for quite some time now. This evening he finally decided it was time to get some dental floss around it and pull it out. Yuck. I told him where my dental floss was and he ran off to get it. A little while later he started screaming (with joy) that his tooth came out. Apparently while looking for the dental floss he came across my tweezers and started messing with his tooth and the next thing he knew he was holding his tooth ! Gross huh?! Pulled out with tweezers!!! It made me queasy to think about. But he was THRILLED. He made a round of phone calls to let people know what happened and to talk about the money he would be receiving from the tooth fairy. He dropped his tooth in his bedroom carpet a couple times and had major tears because he thought all was lost but we managed to find it both times. He's finishing up 1st grade and just now losing his first tooth!

Just having fun on a beautiful evening.

2009-05-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

Acquiring a taste for hiking

2009-04-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

The weather was nice enough again last week that I decided to finally give hiking a try. Actually I want to get more into trail running than hiking. I went two days and LOVED it. I can drive to the base of the mountain in the same time it takes me to get to the gym. Maybe 5 minutes. I hiked the lower trail that still climbs quite a bit. The trail is often literally on the edge of the mountain. I have to really pay attention. The second day I hiked I ran quite a bit of it for over an hour. It was AWESOME! My lungs and legs were really getting a workout. I did stop several times to take in the scenery. I was overlooking the entire valley. Amazing. I was running eye level with a helicopter flying by! For awhile I was mesmerized by the F-16's. They were doing their practice runs. Usually they fly over my neighborhood and I don't really know where they go, but from my view I was able to see exactly what they're up to on those practice runs. I could see easily to the air base so I watched them take off and land, circle around, skim the runway and take off again. It was such a treat for me since I'm hopelessly fascinated by air force aircraft. Two aircraft skimmed over the mountain top and I had to sit on the trail so I wouldn't get dizzy and roll down the mountain when I looked up. I could easily read the bottom of their wings but I didn't see the airforce markings so I'm not sure if they belonged to them, but they were flying around the base so they probably were. ahhhhh....this was all so much fun for me. I had an amazing run. The next night I was telling my neighbors about my new love for mountain running and they told me I should not be doing that solo. It just simply isn't safe since there are incidences that women are robbed and probably worse. Definately not common, but it can happen. I felt so deflated. I knew they were right. It really isn't wise for me to be out there by myself. I just don't know enough people yet to have a running friend. I had envisioned how fit I was going to get in the month and a half I have left before the kids are out of school, and I felt like it went up in smoke. There's no way I can replicate that kind of running in town. It's just not the same as a rocky winding trail. grrrrrrrr.....
Last complaint: It isn't fair that Nephi can run trails solo with little concern because he's a guy and I can't. It's just not fair.

Our annual Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-04-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Gina and I threw together a hunt for the kids. They LOVED it as usual. Last year Maggie and family was in on it but she left the day before. So it was just us. We put change into some of the eggs and that was a HIT! Nobody cared about the candy. They were too busy counting change!

2009-04-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

Brigham's a mad scientist

2009-04-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

Uncle Jared gave Brigham a set to make real crystals at home. This was step one of what seems like 137 steps. Weeks later we still haven't made it past the first few steps.

Back with Grandma!

2009-04-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Gold's are home from their mission!

2009-04-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

Playing at the park with Frank's kids Ty (right) and Cameron (left) and Gracia (middle)

this is actually how they slept! They talked for quite awhile with the lights off but they were so well behaved!

2009-04-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Christal brought dressups for Laci and Gracia to wear. She is such a fun aunt.

Jared and Christal slept at our house the night before we all headed up to Idaho Falls for Nephi's parents return from their Hawaiian mission. We had a good visit. (I had to crop Christal out of the picture because it was one of those where your eyes are halfway open and you look stoned! )

Oh yeah, still hangin tough!

2009-03-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

This IS actually the same New Kids shirt from my childhood. I've stored it away in a box and I decided it was time to get it out and start sporting it again! I actually wore it to a church activity tonight. Nobody seemed to appreciate it but I got a kick out of wearing it! By the way, my whole family was embarrased including Brigham. Isn't he too young to be embarrased over a t-shirt?

this is funny

2009-03-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dkupwzIWKI

Finally I'm feeling better.

2009-03-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

I went to the school today went it was letting out. I found the Brigham's friend's dad and had a good visit with him. He really does seem like a good guy. And he seems to have his stuff together. I feel like I can breathe easy now. We agreed it was a good idea for the boys to play regularly and arranged for him to come to our house tommorrow for 4 hours since it's a short day at school. His dad can just pick him up at our house instead of at school.
I finally feel some relief in this situation.

more to the story....

2009-03-19T19:50:00.001-07:00

The case worker finally called me back today. He interviewed Brigham's friend and thankfully he (friend) was very open and forthcoming. The caseworker said that he was spilling it all. THANK HEAVENS!!! The C.W. also said that the depth and scope of the problems were much worse than he originally realized and Brigham's friend has been removed from his home. He is now with his birth dad (lives in Salt Lake). The live-in boyfriend is apparently jail bound. That was an unexpected and upsetting new detail. I never knew he was a problem. Dang. Dang. Dang. I feel like I should've known somehow. I'm so angry about the boyfriend thing. Really p___ off. He came to my house that night acting so innocent when he picked him up. My corrections officer friend is keeping an eye out for him or his mom at the jail to see if either of them get brought in. I think she'll let me know.

sidetracked....

2009-03-18T14:01:00.001-07:00

Hi. I've been neglecting the blog because I've been obsessed with Facebook. I just started so I'm in that phase of finding friends and seeing who confirms you as their friend. It is addicting. I've currently been visiting with a guy who served a mission in Mesquite years ago and we had a lot to catch up on. (Elder Cavaness)
Anyhow, I've actually had a stressful couple days. As my family knows I had to call the police on my son's friends' mother. When my kids walked their friend home they found his mom incoherently drunk. And it was after 5pm! I kept him for an hour, fed him dinner, panicked inside, while looking calm on the outside. Finally it dawned on me to call the mom of one of their friends. She's a corrections officer and she told me who to call. I called the dispatcher and they sent an officer over there right away. His mom's boyfriend eventually came to pick him up and take him to his aunt's house that night. I cried a lot that night because the friend told me how bad his home life has been. I suspected something wasn't right months ago because the first time he came to play he asked if I'd adopt him if something happened to his mom. I'd been trying to figure it out since then.
So all yesterday I felt sick to my stomach and tried to get through to CPS. By the way, they don't return my calls. Apparently they don't care what I have to say. I'll keep trying.
His mom did call me and we talked for almost half an hour. I cried and she cried. She admitted she had a problem and was going to the VA hospital within a day to see a doctor. We talked about a lot that I won't rehash. I was very blunt with her though. I told her what her son told me about how his life has been. I wanted her to know how she's affecting him (I've seen a lot of that show Intervention). I made it clear to her that he's been very unhappy. I told her all of this in a non-judgemental and loving way. She was receptive and greatful that I cared about her son and intervened. When Brigham came home from school today he said that the friends dad (birth dad) was taking him today. I don't know what that means. I don't know if that means for one day, the rest of the week, more? But it must mean that something is happening and hopefully for the better. Maybe long enough for his mom to get help.
A few months ago I prayed that Heavenly Father would send me a child that needed me. The next day I met this boy. My testimony has grown a lot in the last few days and I feel stronger and more empowered now. Heavenly Father does hear our prayers and if you ask to be of service He will take you up on it!

our "NEW" bbq

2009-03-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

When we moved from Idaho Falls we had to leave our gas grill behind. We just simply ran out of room in our moving truck. That was sad because I'd had it for years and it was great. Well, we REALLY need a grill since I cook on one regularly but haven't felt like we have the extra money so I posted an ad on craigslist looking for a grill that someone would sell me cheap. After a couple of weeks I got a reply back from a guy who said he'd give us his old one.....for FREE! And he'd even deliver it to us! WOO HOO! So he brought it today. I wasn't home (primary activity) but Nephi was waiting for him. I'd bought a gift bag from Great Harvest for Nephi to give him as a thank you. Anyhow this grill is OLD SCHOOL... and I love it! I cleaned it out, varnished the wood with some stuff I had laying around, and voila! We're cooking! We had a hot dog barbeque to break it in and it was fun. A little too cold outside for my taste but the kids didn't notice and had a good time.

2009-03-11T16:51:00.001-07:00

I loved Adam Lambert on American Idol last night! Oh...he's so cute. In a gay kind of way but that's fine. :)
The kids went to the dentist. No cavities! Unbelievable...
I don't know how we've dodged the bullet every time. Of course it's from teeth brushing but I'm still traumatized from my childhood experience of several cavities per visit.

Brigham's workout

2009-03-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Brigham played his "new" Ninja Turtle game for awhile. Afterwards when he came upstairs he had taken his shirt off, was dripping in sweat and his face was bright red. I couldn't believe it. But today I took some video of how he plays and now it makes sense! It's a workout! Who needs a wii?!

ha ha!

2009-03-10T14:50:00.001-07:00

On the way to preschool, a doctor had left her stethoscope on the car seat, and her little girl picked it up and began playing with it. Be still, my heart, thought the doctor, my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps! Then the child spoke into the instrument: “Welcome to McDonald’s. May I take your order?”

Going private again

2009-03-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! If you're reading this then you have officially been invited to my blog! (I know, you're honored)
I decided to go private again just to be on the safe side since a friend told me a nightmare story about what can happen when you tell too much information to the world about your family.
At this point I think I have a pretty good idea of who checks the blog so it just makes sense to go private now. Thanks!

good bye snow.

2009-03-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

I took this picture in the empty lot across the street. Can't wait for all those weeds to grow. This lot is for sale by the way. I think they're going to have a hard time selling it because, 1) the market, and 2) there's no room for a backyard. It's literally a drop off down into a ravine. Needless to say, there's not many kids on that side of the street! (Two to be exact and they're not little)

2009-03-05T21:06:00.000-08:00

Laci felt very sophisticated in this scarf.

another day in the life of Lillian

2009-03-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

So today I sold our bike trailer. A girl drove up from Salt Lake to buy it. I sold our trampoline early last week to a girl who drove up from Orem. So I did it. They're sold. Now we have to make good on our promise to use the money to buy the swing set. It's gotten cool again so we have some time. Our snow is melted but the ground is still wet in the swingset area so I don't think there's any rush.

I went to the dentist today. No cavities! It felt like going to the dentist in the big city. We had to take the elevator up to the second floor. Laci loved that. She had to come with me which was SO funny because the hygenist was on one side of my chair cleaning my teeth and Laci was standing on the opposite side with her face literally inches from my mouth watching EVERYTHING. I could literally feel Laci's breath. The hygenist was really cool and went along with it and explained to her what she was doing. Laci can be fun to take along. In just two years she'll be in 1st grade and I'll be on my own all day. I think I'll miss her.
Oh yeah, we figured out the hygenist lives on the same street as me just 4 houses down! Small world.

Tomorrow is Laci's field trip to the Clark Planeterium in Salt Lake. I'm driving Laci and taking Brigham out of school to go. I figured we might as well kill two birds with one stone. Laci learned about space all last month in pre-school. Her teacher is obviously good because Laci has a real zest for space right now. For several nights we've been watching the location of venus in relation to the moon. It's been too cloudy for the last few nights though. I hope the planeterium is fun for them. I remember as a kid REALLY wanting to go and mom finally took us for my benefit and then being disappointed because it was mostly displays. Oh yeah, and we watched a movie that sounded exciting but the whole thing was about how we'd be lucky if we don't get demolished by a comet. Real downer. I hope the experience is better for my kids.

I watched American Idol of course. I LOVE Adam Lambert! Can't help it. I've just got a thing for him. I loved Kai but he never returned for the wildcard episode.
But most importantly I watched the finale of Americas Best Dance Crew! I love Quest but Beat Freaks should've won. Oh well. I'm waiting for the tour dates to come out. If they come to Salt Lake, I WILL BE BUYING A TICKET. I imagine I'll have to go by myself as usual. Honestly, that's better than going with someone who doesn't really care. Because I am there to PARTY!!!

Spring is coming!

2009-02-26T17:39:00.000-08:00

When I was working in the kitchen I looked out and realized there were tulips coming up. WOOHOO! IN FEBRUARY! WOOHOO!

I had a video of Laci doing the happy tulip dance outside but a jet was flying overhead and people would've found the background noise obnoxious.

Laci loves chores

2009-02-26T17:26:00.000-08:00

This is a job she walked into. She always wants to help put away silverware so awhile ago I made it "her job". I make her wash her hands and then she pull up a stool and gets to work. She seriously loves it. It seems to satisfy her obsession with sorting lots of little things.

This job is perfect for her. She always wants to spray the bottle when I clean windows or wash floors so this is perfect for her. I diluted down a cleaning solution so I don't care that she's wasting a lot. She sprays like there's no tomorrow then wipes them with a sponge. I make sure to give her a ton of positive feedback to keep her motivated because I don't want to clean the sinks! By the way, that's a sucker in her mouth. When I was cleaning some drawers out I found some zinc suckers. She thought they were great. I think they were 3 years old.

Okay, this job I'm not thrilled about and don't encourage her to do. She sprays a ton of solution on the floor and then uses her meager amount of strength to mop. It turns an already un-fun job into a really long un-fun job. So after she has her fun then I do the whole thing again. It's alright. She likes to "help".

Belated Valentines Day photos

2009-02-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

Laci and Brigham both had valentines folders at school. Brigham was "kind" enough to give Laci all the candy he didn't like and any girly looking valentines which she promptly taped on her wall.

This was Laci's first experience with collecting valentines. There is 17 in her class so she came home with a lot of stuff. I noticed that every valentine came with candy. I remember when I was a kid it was o.k. to give one without candy. Now it's considered lame. Times have changed. Laci gave out card with suckers. Brigham gave out card with taffy.

2009-02-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

I think I'm finally getting better. I've been sick to some degree for a month now and today was like a ray of sunshine. I coughed less than I have in awhile and my back was amazingly calm today. When I did cough I didn't feel the sharp pain in my back. Halaleujah.
So what was different? Well, I did quite a combination of things. I slept with a heating pad on my back. Took pain killers and anti-inflammatories. And what I really want to point out is that for my cough I tried the Vapo-rub trick. Remember when I mentioned that a couple months ago? The night before I had a horrible night coughing-woke up exhausted. So last night I rubbed vapo rub on my decollette (not exactly my chest ha ha) and on the soles of my feet and then put socks on. I slept great and coughed very little. For the second time I have proven that the vapo rub method works. At the very least; it seems to help. So anyhow, remember that tip when you've got serious nighttime coughing at home. I've tried it on my sleeping kids (the vapo rub on their feet freaks them out) and it has helped them too.

Since I felt so much better today I spent a lot of time outdoors. Doing the usual. Throwing the piles of snow into the street so it will melt in one day instead of a week. That kind of hurt my back but I'm getting skilled at doing all kinds of things without those exact muscles. It's fun to think about spring around the corner. I'm ready for plants, green leaves, eating outside, Lagoon, screen doors open, sounds of nature, shorts, t-shirts, flip flops, family visits........ can't wait.

Well, Brigham and Laci decided today they wanted to go for a walk and collect things to bring home. Brigham wore his backpack and as we walked through the neigborhoods they would find things to collect. It was actually junk. Like broken pieces of plastic. But they loved it all and Laci was constantly unzipping Brigham's backpack to shove some useless garbage in it. However, they actually did find one "treasure". They found a fairly recent dvd in a nice case just lying in the street. It was not a title I recognized but it wasn't exactly a B movie. They were thrilled with that and took it home as a present for dad.
Today the airforce was busy doing practice runs so we watched as many jets flew directly over us. We'd count how many missles were strapped on. They all had six each. It was fun to explain to him how the different sized missles served different purposes. I really didn't know what I was talking about since my knowledge is based on what I've seen in movies and t.v., but I'm always trying to convince my kids to be awed by the jets. I think my brother John is the only other person I know who gives a darn about them. Two or three of the huge carrier planes flew over us today. You always know when they're taking off because the roaring is so loud. I'm completely mesmerized by them. Yup, I'm the only one who gives a darn.

We sold our trampoline two days ago. It won't fit in our terraced yard. That was kind of sad to see it go. It was the nicest trampoline I'd ever seen. I think Nephi was a little relieved he won't have to reassemble it. A young mom drove up from Orem to buy it. She was really nice. Man, I hope all the parts are there. It's a little scary since we moved it disasembeled and then sold it to her that way. It's impossible to know every part is there even though we feel pretty confident about it. I hope I never hear from her. We've also decided it's time to sell our Burley bike trailer. It is NICE, but Laci is getting bigger and the hills around here are crazy. I can't imagine we'd use it much now. Our family's plan is to sell those two items and then we'll have the money to buy a small swingset. There's a store in town that sells commercial quality swingsets/playground equipment and they have a compact little set that I think will actually fit in our yard. It has two swings, a slide with a small platform, and a fireman's pole. It's the only set up I've seen that appears to be configured right for our yard. So the kids agreed that if we sold those two items then we'd use the money for that. This plan took away the sting of losing the tramp. (However, I know my kids, they'll be mourning it's loss come summertime.)

parent teacher conferences tomorrow....
Happy Ash Wednesday ( just kidding! I saw that on the calendar. What is that?)

funny.

2009-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

We went and saw this show today. The title was Tomas Kubinek: Certified Lunatic. It was AWESOME! I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of the show which is unusual for me. But his humor and antics were so unpredictable. We sat in the fifth row so were right up by the stage. Do you remember that Italian director Roberto Benigni that walked across the seats at the Oscars years ago? Well this guy did that several times to interact with the audience and also to find volunteers for different things. It was hilarious. But Brigham was freaked out by this guy. Mr. Kubinek would make the craziest facial expressions and had his hair sticking up all the time. Brigham sat next to me but spent most of the time trying to crowd on my chair with me. I had to keep telling him that he was acting. On the other end of the spectrum Laci thought it all was hilarious. I'd look over to her and she'd have the hugest smile on her face and be LAUGHING. She went along with everything including responding back at certain parts. It's funny how different they are.

I have to mention a funny part in the show. There was a card trick on stage with an audience member he pulled up. Of course Mr. Kubinek "couldn't find" the correct card and eventually pulled out an old paper bag with banannas in it. Tomas peeled his bananna and ate it and kept trying to get the man to eat his(The man was holding one of the bananna in his own hand). He even peeled it part way down for him. Well, the funny thing was, the correct card was rolled up down in the lowest section of the bananna (nobody knew this yet) but this guy admitted he was allergic to banannas and couldn't eat it. This was so fun to watch because Mr. Kubinek had to be spontaneous and he actually laughed out loud (which for a second was out of character) then ate the second bananna himself so the man could find the card tucked inside. He joked that in all the years he never had someone holding the bananna who was allergic to them. As a comedian he got a lot of mileage out of that one for the rest of the show. I have no doubt he'll be telling that story for awhile. You had to be there. It was funny. By the way, the picture above is from the website not the actual show I watched today.

just talking

2009-02-20T23:07:00.000-08:00

Just got back from seeing Slumdog Millionaire. It was pretty good. Let's just say I'm so glad I never lived in India. Boy, that is a rough place. The movie had a good ending just as expected. It wasn't the happy euphoric ending that Oprah got me believing it had. Life had been so rough for them that the happy ending was bittersweet. But definately a good movie. I expect it will win plenty of awards and it deserves them. I went to the big Larry H. Miller(by the way, he died today) theater downtown. It's a pretty exciting place. We need to take the kids down there on a nice summer evening to soak up a little excitement. It's basically a block that has some fun things like the theater, Costa Vida (yummm), the I-Fly experience (have heard mixed reviews on that), rock climbing (I'm scared of heights), children's museum, and I really don't know what else. But there's a lively feel to the place. I think it's probably a fun place in the summer months. I went to the movie by myself and I had to park in the parking garage so that was a little intimidating. But I'm here. So I guess I survived. The trees are all lit up downtown like it's Christmas. I would've thought that with March approaching tree lighting might be over. I'm not complaining though. It adds atmosphere.
Mom, I finally saw the old Egyptian theater tonight. It looks cute. I guess you park in the back since the front doors are on Washington Blvd. Typical of downtowns. Brigham just brought home a flyer for a kids movie series they are doing. They list the movies (kids free) and then say, "PLUS: Classic Cartoons and Old-Time Silent Comedies featuring the Egyptian's MIGHTY WULITZER Theater Pipe Organ!"
I want to go just to see the silent movies with the organ! How cool is that! As long as they're short of course. Can't imagine sitting through that for very long. But what a neat experience.
The first movie is next Saturday so I'll take the kids I think.
I decided this year for my b-day I wanted to have a pie instead of cake. I decided to go to Costco since I usually drool over all their desserts but have no reason to buy a gigantic $10+ pie. So I loaded Laci up tonight and we went to pick something out. She was funny because she knew Brigham would be upset if we picked out apple so she practically begged me not to buy it even though she loves apple pie too. We ended up picking out a HUGE bananna chocolate cream pie. It is way too big but they only make things in jumbo size. It was only $10 too. I already sneaked tastes of the pie and invited Nephi to do the same (so I wouldn't feel like a pig). Hey, it's my birthday pie. I can do what I want! It's not like there's going to be a shortage. It is SOOO good. I'm pretty sure by Monday morning I'll never want to see a chocolate pie again.
At Costco they had ROC facial spf moisturizer. Just what I'd been looking for! And check out this perk. Because it's a retinol formula it says that in 12 weeks my skin will look 10 years younger! So I'm turning 32 but in just 3 months I'm going to look 22? Sign me up! ha ha! No really. Sign me up. It came in a two pack of course so I gave the other to Nephi. Now he really does have fine lines so I'm going to be watching to see if he turns back the clock of time! I'll keep you posted so you'll know if you should run out and buy this stuff.
Okay, bed time. I've got to get to the gym in the morning and work my you know what off because I'm going to be eating a whole lot of cr_p in the next two days. Oh yeah, and I've got to enjoy my last day of ever being 31. Those were the good old days..........

Dumped on

2009-02-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

We got DUMPED ON today. Serious snow. Since I have my lame injury I had to stand back and watch over a foot of snow pile up on our driveway. And it was HEAVY. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I tried to shovel some but it wasn't worth it since it almost reduced me to tears. But I think it's over now. That was almost 12 hours of continuous snow. I think the the temeratures are going to be moderate again. Should be gorgeous this weekend.

I got tickets for a performance at Weber State this weekend so the family's going to that on Saturday. Our first performance was Peter Pan last month. I've always thought Peter Pan was extremely lame but I figured they'd have Peter flying around on wires so the kids would like it. It didn't disappoint. Of course Nephi and I rolled our eyes the whole time. You know Wendy's little brother? He was played by a college age girl. It was creepy. The whole time we just kept thinking about "Pat" from Saturday Night Live. Very androgenous. All in all though, the shows at the college are proving to be an affordable outing that feel like a big deal. It's fun to live by Weber. Brigham went to a college basketball game on a field trip a while back.

Nephi got an MRI on his back today. He's had back issues for years and it's become relentless so he's going to start doing something about it. Hopefully something covered by insurance.

Here's some good recipes that were on KSL yesterday. They're from the kitchen of their "Health guru". I pasted it directly from the website so don't think the comments are mine, they're not. :)

2. Cheesy Rice
1 box Four Cheese Rice-a-roni
1 lb. 93% lean ground beef

Prepare the rice as directed on the box. Then brown the ground beef and toss it in, let simmer 5 more minutes.
Why I love this recipe: (if you can call it that!) Boxed meals are not something I recommend using everyday, but once in a while, we all need an old-reliable, quick-and-easy meal that we can fall back on on super busy nights -- this 400-calorie meal is far better for our health than a 1,500-calorie, more-than-a-day's-supply-of-sodium meal from a restaurant or fast-food outlet.
If you balance boxed foods with with low-sodium, high-fiber side dishes -- like steamed broccoli and a bowl of sliced strawberries -- then you've actually got a decent meal on the table... in minutes!

3. Sugar-free Maple Syrup
2 cups Splenda (or you can do "low-sugar syrup" with 1 cup Splenda and 1 cup real sugar)
1 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp. mapeline flavoring

Boil the water, then add Splenda/sugar and mapeline. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Why I love this: Because my kids love waffles, pancakes and french toast; and using a sugar-free (or half-the-sugar) homemade syrup keeps these meals in the healthy zone. Kids already eat too much sugar and don't need to top hot breakfast foods with spoonful after spoonful of yet, more sugar! Splenda is safe; but as with everything, should be consumed in moderation. I only use Splenda in one thing: syrup! And it saves my kids from excess sugar every single week.
It's worth it! Check out the calories & sugar per 1-oz serving*:
Regular maple syrup: 80 calories, 5 tsp. sugar Homemade "low sugar": 45 calories, 2.5 tsp sugar Homemade "sugar free": 0 calories, 0 sugar
(*usually enough to cover one pancake; we should aim to consume less than 10 tsp of added sugar each day)

Almond-Craisin Spinach Salad
Toss the following: 2 - 3 cups spinach
1/8 cup sliced almonds
1/8 cup craisins
1/2 cup matchstick carrots
2 Tbsp. light raspberry vinaigrette

Why I Love This: It's made with 4 super-food ingredients (spinach, almonds, carrots, and olive oil dressing) and you can literally throw it together in less than 5 minutes! The nutty and sweet flavors are complimentary and make for a delicious healthy snack -- or meal. With just 220 calories, this salad is one I use when I need to counterbalance a high-calorie meal. It's the perfect way to save up for a soup-to-nuts dinner or to make up for an oversized, "shouldn't have" lunch.

Catching up....

2009-02-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

I fell on the ice on Saturday night. Right on my tailbone. It hurts! It messed up my lower back a little too. Hey, as long as I don't have to bend, cough, sneeze, strain,sit up, sit down, etc I feel great! ha ha Nephi has a lot of experience with back problems so he uses his therapy skills to at least try to re-align my back. He can tell that my SI joints (huh?) are out of whack by the fact that one leg is just a little shorter than the other. Then he does a bunch of different things that evens them back out. I have to say, it is comforting living with a therapist.

The worst part of this is that I just started Body for Life (strength building, weight loss program) a week ago and I have been working so hard! Now I feel a little crippled. It's going to be a challenge to keep it up while I heal. But I don't want to waste the last week so I'm going to plug along and do what I can.

Not a lot going on here. Weathers on and off. We got dumped on like most everyone. Tonight we expect more snow and then it should be good again. I've been shoveling the driveway for my older neighbors. He just had shoulder surgery. I know they're probably counting on me for this storm coming and I'm worried because I can barely pick up something in my house, let alone shovel my own driveway. What am I going to do??? I don't want to let them down. I'm hoping for a miracle.

My birthday is this weekend. I'll be 32 years old. WHAT?! I hope I don't look that old. That seems old to me. I still want to be 29. That was the perfect age. I was reading something on Yahoo news. It was a dermatology article written by a dermatologist of course. She was listing the 10 biggest mistakes people use. Well, I can't remember most of them. But I do remember that one of them was "Not using sunscreen", and "Not using a retinol". These tips are of course related to maintaining younger looking skin. So the first one's easy. Just get a daytime moisurizer with sunscreen. At Wal Mart I found a moisturizer with spf 30 for $13. That was easy. Now, the retinol. Apparently that not only makes your skin clear but it is super effecitive at avoiding and reducing facial lines. She recommended getting a prescription retinol if possible since it is hightly potent. (Not doing that.) Or getting a brand like ROC or another one that contains the retinol. ROC looks like a fairly affordable brand that I can just buy OTC. So something like that should be the night cream. SPF by day, retinol by night. Seems easy enough.

Next topic.
So I've been making a real effort to improve the quality of the foods that we eat at home. In a perfect world we'd go all organic but that is impossible. The prices on organic food can be so expensive so I'm making changes where I can.
I would love to buy organic meat because there are so many issues with meat that I don't even want to think about. But it's not possible. Organic meat is outrageously expensive. So we could become vegetarians. Not going to happen. Sorry poor cow, I like my beef.
Okay, so one step at a time. I decided to switch to organic milk and organic, cage free eggs. The organic milk is sold in 1/2 gallon cartons. Pretty expensive but there's only four in our family so it's doable. One carton is more than a gallon of reg milk. The eggs are more too but it makes me happy that the chickens that produced our eggs weren't miserable slaves. And they were fed an all vegetarian diet. So those were two changes I could make.
I've also committed to only organic apples. According to experts, apples contain the highest levels of pesticides. Even washing them doesn't fix it. I've found that organic apples are not a lot more money than regular ones. Easy change. Organic carrots are also easy and pretty affordable to find. Organic spinach is another easy and fairly affordable change.

Baby steps. I feel that as many chemicals and negative by-products I can take out of our family's diet over the years is that much less that our bodies will have to contend with. Hopefully it will protect our health to some degree over the long term.

Revisiting Idaho Falls

2009-02-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

I've wondered how I would feel going back to Idaho Falls after we moved away 3 months ago. I loved it there and a year ago couldn't imagine living anywhere else. We just visited there last weekend to see friends and we had a good time. We went back to the old neighborhood to visit our neighbors so we were right there at our old house. I definately felt a twinge of something because I saw it with fresh eyes. It looked great! The paint job I gave it makes it so nice and bright! Nephi and I both commented on what a cute house it is, knowing that it was our doing that made it so (new windows, new paint, new garage doors). So we felt a little pride too that it looked good. However, there is so much snow in Idaho Falls as usual. The neigborhood is piled high. All of the streets in town have packed down snow (except the main roads of course). It just looks and feels like a typical January. It was also much colder. But that's what made us instantly love Ogden even more. In Ogden we almost NEVER have packed down snow on roads or sidewalks. We get a storm than it starts melting within a few days, the sun is warm when it shines, and it shines a lot. When we left IF it was very overcast and dreary. There were flakes falling we thought there must be snow coming. However, we drove out of it and back home into gorgeous, sunny, decently warm weather.
I feel even better about our decision to move here. This place suits us. Not that I don't still love Idaho Falls. I will always have a place in my heart for IF. But I felt that trip confirmed to us even more that we are and will be happy here in Ogden.

2009-01-29T09:46:00.001-08:00

Here's a link to the BornFree website. It has a good selection of BPA free baby items.

http://www.newbornfree.com/Catalog.aspx?categoryid=14163

Look into this for yourself.....

2009-01-28T12:11:00.000-08:00

My friend Kim and I have been researching the BPA issue. Ever heard of it? Neither had we. It is a petroleum based chemical that is used in plastics. Basically....it is BAD for you. It leaches into your foods and can have serious effects on childrens bodies. I just read a book titled, "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax. He addressed the issue of BPA and what he believes it is doing to boys specifically. Apparently, this chemical replicates the estrogen hormone and is causing all sorts of problems in boys because they were not meant to be taking this hormone into their bodies. It is a possible factor in girls early onset of puberty (which apparently was uncommon a generation or two ago), and hurting boys neurologically and physically.

There's a lot to this. I can't pretend to be an expert. Read over the information I've blogged and do some research for yourself. It's worth the time.

I have vowed to not put disposable water bottles in my kids lunches anymore. Or use standard resusable water bottles. They all can leach BPA. I was able to find a small BPA free water bottle for Brigham's lunch box. Not cheap at 8.99 but when you learn about the risks of BPA it seems like a bargain.

Baby bottles, sippy cups, many pacifiers... they're all leaching BPA. But if you make the effort, you can replace them with safer alternatives! Don't use plastic dishes and cups with your family. Throw them out and use Corelle if you need something durable. I've googled
"BPA free pacifiers" and I found a website that listed different brands that made safe ones. It looks like silicone pacifiers are good and of course there's some expensive brands out there. I did see that Gerber makes some BPA free. Read the packaging carefully.

Spend some time looking into this and decide for yourself if you want to make some changes!

An article from the Daily Green.com

2009-01-28T12:03:00.000-08:00

You may have read or heard lately about Bisphenol-A (BPA) and its many disturbing side effects. It was developed in the 30's as a synthetic estrogen, but is used mostly today in polycarbonate plastic. It's found in sunglasses, CD's and the fillings in your teeth, and is used to coat the inside of tin cans and make plastic shatterproof.

Unfortunately, BPA can activate estrogen receptors that lead to the same effects as the body's own estrogens. Some hormone disrupting effects in studies on animals and human cancer cells have been shown to occur at levels as low as 2-5 parts per billion. These health problems include lowered sperm count and infertile sperm in men, and exposure during development has been proven to have carcinogenic effects and produce precursors of breast cancer. BPA has been shown to have developmental toxicity, carcinogenic effects, and possible neurotoxicity.
So what about all the plastic baby bottles made with BPA out there? The Environment California Research & Policy Center published a report in February that found that five of the most popular baby bottles brands (Avent, Dr. Brown's, Evenflo, Gerber and Playtex) leach enough of this developmental, neural and reproductive toxicant into the liquids that come into contact with them to cause harm in lab animals. Scientists have linked very low doses of BPA exposure to cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity and diabetes. In one recent study, a single, low dose of BPA administered to a newborn rat resulted in hyperactive behavior. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found BPA in the urine of over 95% of people they tested.
Since our book The Complete Organic Pregnancy was published we've seen public awareness of the dangers of BPA increase, but glass baby bottles are still not readily available. I use Evenflo's shatterproof glass bottles, and a company called Born Free has released a natural BPA-free alternative plastic bottle.
The study includes some other ways to limit your child's exposure to this toxic chemical:
At the store, parents should select baby bottles that are made from glass or a safer non-polycarbonate plastic. At home, parents should avoid washing plastic dishware with harsh dishwashing soap and hot water, which may allow chemicals to leach out of the plastic.
The Environmental Working Group published a survey of BPA in U.S. canned foods in March and found BPA in over half of 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda, and other commonly eaten canned goods.
They also found:
Of all foods tested, chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had BPA levels of highest concern. Just one to three servings of foods with these concentrations could expose a woman or child to BPA at levels that caused serious adverse effects in animal tests.
For 1 in 10 cans of all food tested, and 1 in 3 cans of infant formula, a single serving contained enough BPA to expose a woman or infant to BPA levels more than 200 times the government's traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals. The government typically mandates a 1,000- to 3,000-fold margin of safety between human exposures and levels found to harm lab animals, but these servings contained levels of BPA less than 5 times lower than doses that harmed lab animals.
Until they solve the BPA problems, I've been going without canned soup.

Avoid BPA

2009-01-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

BPA: 5 Tips to Avoid the Dangers in Plastics
Your plastic water bottle may not be safe
By Susan Seliger
You’ve probably seen the news reports about the dangers of chemicals such as BPA (bisphenol-A, an endocrine-disrupting chemical) and others in plastic. Now it’s time for you to do something about it.
I know you’re trying to do the green thing by re-using your plastic water and juice bottles instead of being like 80% of the rest of the world who toss them in the garbage and don’t even recycle.
But cut it out. BPA has been linked to various cancers (breast and prostate cancer), early onset puberty, Type II diabetes and neurobehavioral changes in offspring exposed in the womb. And BPA is not the only danger lurking in your plastic containers.
Here are some simple steps you can take to stay healthy and safe. These tips are advisable for everybody – but especially for those most vulnerable to the effects of these chemicals -- infants and young children, as well as pregnant women or anyone even thinking about getting pregnant.

1. Do not re-use plastic water – or soda or juice -- bottles.
The danger here is not BPA -- these containers do not contain BPA as they are made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a petroleum-based material. (Turn them upside-down and look for the number #1 inside the tiny triangle.)
The primary danger is bacteria. With those small mouths, they are almost impossible to wash properly.
Danger Number 2: Once you’ve put those bottles in the dishwasher and they’ve gotten scratched and dented, this degraded bottle allows a trace metal, antimony, to leach into whatever you are drinking, according to one of the leading researchers on plastics, University of Missouri’s Frederick S. vom Saal, in a recent New York Times article.

2. Avoid hard plastic Nalgene containers, made from polycarbonates -- #7 on the bottom.
Yes, those cool, colorful, rigid transparent plastic bottles that are labeled Number 7 – or PC on the bottom -- contain BPA. This plastic is also used for hard plastic baby bottles, toddlers’ sippy cups, 5 gallon water cooler bottles, plastic silverware, and Lexan products, according to a report by The Environmental Working Group.
“Some polycarbonate water bottles are marketed as 'non-leaching' for minimizing plastic taste or odor, however there is still a possibility that trace amounts of BPA will migrate from these containers, particularly if used to heat liquids,” according to the EWG.
When possible it is best to avoid #7 plastics, especially for children's food. Plastics with the recycling labels #1, #2 , #4 and #5 on the bottom are safer choices and do not contain BPA.
(NOTE FROM LILLIAN: I just went to Sports Authority and I found that Nalgene is now making water bottles that are BPA free. Just look for the big "BPA free" sticker on it. Get them for your kids lunch boxes!!!!!)

3. Use stainless steel containers – there’s a sippy cup adapter for toddlers.
And make sure you pick ones that do not have a plastic liner. That plastic liner can contain – you guessed it – BPA.
Here’s a web site – KleanKanteen -- with a selection of stainless steel bottles —one even has a sippy adapter for kids – instead of those plastic sippy cups.
(NOTE FROM LILLIAN: I've checked out that brand. They do have great little sippy cups. They are exensive though. I found BPA free bottles and nipples at my local Natural Grocery store. So I know they could be easily found online too. I didn't see BPA free pacifiers but I'll bet they can be found online.)

4. Do not microwave or heat foods in plastic containers.
That means any plastic – even if it is a safer variety. When you heat liquids or foods in a plastic container, it causes even more BPA (and possibly other chemicals) to leach out.
Don’t use plastic wrap in the microwave either. Though the American Chemistry Council reports that phthalates stopped being used in any US plastic wraps in 2006, companies aren't required to list what's in their plastic wrap. So why take chances?
Use glass containers in the microwave. And cover with a paper towel or a glass cover.

5. If you must use plastic containers, hand wash them.
For times when you can’t use glass – like when you’re out running or biking – and you must use plastic, at least make sure to wash your bottle by hand. Use a mild dishwashing soap – and do not put it in the dishwasher as this will degrade the plastic and allow more BPA (or trace metals iin the case of single-use plastic water bottles) to leach out.

2009-01-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry. Haven't blogged in awhile. Just haven't had anything interesting to say. I'll get back to it soon!

One more tile project

2009-01-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

I had left over tile and I had a sink downstairs with no backsplash. So hey, why not. I think it turned out pretty good. I don't know if the mirror looks right or not. I still have the receipt so I can return it. Any opinions?

this is kind of wierd to blog......

2009-01-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

I just figured out something tonight that I have to share in case it helps someone else out.

Thirteen years ago I started getting pain/itching on a certain area by my right shoulder blade. It drives me crazy at times and bugs me every day. My dad has the exact same thing and I used to scratch his back EVERY day. Nephi AND my kids (yes, even my four year old) has been roped into scratching it for me because I can't reach it. I've talked to physical therapists and even a massage therapist and everyone thinks I have a kink in my back they can work out with a good massage. Wrong.
Well, tonight, I got the bright idea to google "itchy spot on right shoulder blade". How wierd is that. But you never know what you'll find on google. To my shock what I found was lots of people asking the same question. I am not a freak! It's much more common than I ever imagined! Lots of people going crazy with the same problem and nobody getting any answers. Well, after a little research I discovered it does have a medical name: Notalgia Paraesthetica. It is a nerve damage problem. That particular nerve coming from my spine was damaged at some point (how on earth did that happen?) and so the nerve ending is sending pain /itching sensation to my skin. It is not usually anything serious and can be helped with creams that diminish nerve sensation. I wish I could borrow my grandma's cream for shingles. I think it's the same stuff. Anywho.....does anybody have this problem? If you do, google that fancy medical name and you'll learn everything about something that most medical professionals think you've fabricated in your mind, or just need a massage for.

How I did it....

2009-01-07T19:45:00.001-08:00

Hi. Thanks for the comments. I thought I'd expound on what I did since some people are interested. Our former backsplash was comprised of sheets of glass that they had literally rolled paint onto the back of and then glued on the wall. You can see it in the before picture. I had to break the glass off the wall. It was scary because it would break in shards and little needle-like pieces were always getting me. I finally used my brain and found some leather gloves to use. I had too many close calls.
When I had some tile work done in Idaho Falls by professionals I paid attention to what they did because I knew that it was something I wanted to try sometime. Other than that I researched how-to's online and read directions, that's it. It really is not that difficult if you have a good flat space to tile on. I love the tile at www.modwalls.com. Their tile is very modern and cool and you can find mosaic glass tile for as little as 5.99 a sheet. That's how much mine was. That is inexpensive for glass tile. Check it out if you're interested. You can contact me if you want advice on what mastic to use.
I really want to tile my bathroom floors but I think that is far beyond my meager skills. We'll see, maybe with more research I'll get up the courage some day. I doubt it.

Finished!

2009-01-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

I'm done! Wooh! That was a project. Not super difficult just very labor intensive. I'm proud of my work for a first timer!

My current project. Tile a backsplash.

2009-01-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of the kitchen when we were looking to buy the house.

Here's a partial transformation I just did last night.

Here's the semi-completed job. This is a picture of all the tile on the wall with thin-set only. The outlet covers are off and I haven't grouted yet.

My new house numbers

2008-12-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

Nephi always laughs at me because I've had an obsession with house numbers for years. I love them. I think it is a shame when they aren't treated as their own work of art. Call me nuts. I can't help it. When we bought this house I salivated over the possiblility of great house numbers. The old ones were small rusting numbers drilled in under the front light. Technically nothing wrong with them, I'm pretty sure they were serving their purpose well, but awful to me. So anyhow, here's my new numbers. Oversized - stainless steel - custom made beauties. I love them. Clean and modern. Because they're not under a light I put a spotlight in the ground pointing up at them at night. Very dramatic. At Christmas clearance sales I bought two more spotlights to point up at the two trees in front of the house and put them all on a timer. At night everything is lit up. I'm really happy with it. Mom, I know you'd like to see it but it wouldn't photograh well I'm sure. Enough about house numbers! :)

Christmas 2008

2008-12-28T13:13:00.000-08:00

We had a GREAT Christmas this year. Nephi's brother, Jared, came from L.A. and spent 4 days with us. It was FUN! We cooked, baked, made candy, relaxed, watched movies, etc. The kids said over and over again that this was the best Christmas EVER! (Not that our other Christmases haven't been fun). The kids really bonded with Jared. It was so nice having him here. With being new in town we don't have close friends here yet so it was so good having family with us this Christmas. It really was our best Christmas ever.

But.....we still missed and thought of all you that we weren't with!

2008-12-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

cutting out the gingerbread

The kids each had 3 cookies to decorate how they wanted. Jared let them pick out the colors for the frostings, we made them little decorating bags and they went to town. It was SO MUCH fun for everyone.

2008-12-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

whoops, repeat picture.

In person they looked like something out of a Martha Stewart magazine.

Yes, I actually was there for all of this. A picture to prove it.

oh, so cute.....

2008-12-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

Here we go....
starting with the stockings...

2008-12-28T12:52:00.000-08:00

Laci trying to figure out if presents have her name on them.

Brigham checking out his Ironman

Brigham playing with his new Ironman and Batman.

quote of the day

2008-12-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

Brigham: "Laci, what is the opposite of cracker? Is it chip or is it cheese?"
Laci: "Cheese."
Brigham: "Nope. It's chip."
Laci: "That's okay. Because I like chips."

Winter is here....

2008-12-14T16:54:00.001-08:00

Our Christams Tree

2008-12-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

In my haste to take a few pictures of mom's painting I snapped these pictures since the kids both wanted to be in a photo. nothing fancy.

Mom's new painting

2008-12-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

Mom let me take one of her paintings. I thought it would look perfect on that wall and it does. It's on loan, but I don't think I'm giving it back anytime soon. I love it mom!

more photos from Thanksgiving in Mesquite

2008-12-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures from our bonfire in the backyard. We were planning to go out in the hills and have a fire, but John was called into work so mom made a campfire in the backyard and we sat around and ate sandwiches! ha ha! The kids didn't know the difference. They had a good time.

Family History

2008-12-02T22:16:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the Dec Ensign I learned about how I can do family history work at home. pg 74. Have you read it? It talks about the new program where anybody can download a new progam (FamilySearch Indexing) and you just upload a batch and you get to work. Basically it's data input. I started last night and I've done two batches. If I can figure it all out, anybody can. In the first batch I had to go through a scanned image of a census sheet from 1920 Illinois. Tonight I went through early 1900 New Hampshire births. Basically it's tedius work, but the spirit of Elijah is real. I truly feel good when I work on these. Except of course when I can't read handwriting. That can be a real challenge. Especially when you aren't familiar with some of the old fashioned names and towns you've never heard of. In my determination not to submit a bunch of crap to the church I googled until I found a good census listing from 1895 of the towns and cities in New Hapshire. Everytime I came across a town where the spelling wasn't obvious, I would just jump over to my town listing page and look until I could find a good match. That was awesome. If I hadn't done that, I would've been submitting some real unhelpful info. So that felt really good. I did send a couple projects back as soon as I looked at them because they were so faded it was impossible to deciper. I felt bad for those people. Hopefully they get found on other documents.
I'm grateful that I can finally be involved in family history. I've always felt bad/guilty that I've never done anything and I'm truly grateful to be a part of something so big. Maybe I can help make a difference for someone else.
I've always found it interesting that Heavenly Father has the power to get all the work done in no time flat and yet he gives all of us the opportunity to serve each other and no doubt form bonds (though we may not feel them yet in this lifetime)of love with others. I envy those people that have and are doing so much work for the dead that I can only imagine the wonderful bonds with people they will have when they get to the other side. That is sooo special.

On a side note: I think half of the 1895 New Hampshire population was named Henry Johnson. I have never seen so many Henry Johnsons in my life.

hello again...

2008-12-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving's over. We went to Mesquite and had a good time. I personally haven't been home for Thanksgiving since before Brigham was born. We had a good time. Grandma's 90th birtday party was on Saturday. How cool that we still have grandma at 90 years. I love her. I tell everyone that she was my second mother. We were very lucky to live next door to her and have her presence every single day. Pretty much everyone attended her party. It was a family reunion of sorts. I saw some cousins I haven't seen in years and that was really cool. Mom, uncle Don, and aunt Suzanne said a few nice words for grandma and we sang happy birthday. Very low key. The way we like it.

Tuesday

2008-11-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

The tree guy has come and gone. I survived, correction: the house survived. Just as I planned I ran outside when I saw him go towards the other trees with his saw. I lamented my concerns to him about branches crashing down on the roof and/or knocking the satellite dish. We discussed it and he spent a lot of time planning how to go about it and I told him I would help. He took me up on it. He had me holding the rope pulling the BIG branches while he was up in the tree going at it with a chain saw. Trust me, we were a sight to be seen. When I wasn't holding the rope I had my face in my hands having panic attacks. But, to make a long story short-er, we took care of it, no damage, except a potted plant I should've moved. The trees I needed cut back are cut back. Success. The End. :)
When I came in from the backyard I realized that Brigham was talking to someone out front. A ward member had come to welcome us. As I walked out past our courtyard wall I greeted the guest then in the next second I looked around. Laci had brought out half of her wardrobe and many of her toys and they were laying across our front yard. Oh, also, there was a big cardboard box they had cut into a playhouse AND a ton of bubblewrap lying everywhere. My mouth dropped open as I looked at this woman and looked around our property. We looked like hillbilly's. I was horrified but because the horror was genuine I'm pretty sure she believed me when I begged her to know that our yard does not normally like this. While we stood there and talked I had to watch car after car and person after person go past our house staring our way, no doubt disgusted with the new trashy neighbors that just moved in. Anyhow, we had a good laugh about it and as soon as she left I picked it all up. It really was funny. Overall, I'm just grateful that the weather is so good that my kids are making playhouses outside. At 6pm tonight it was dark and they were still out front playing in their playhouse with flashlights. Unbelievable. Without jackets. I love Ogden.

Interesting....

2008-11-18T09:04:00.000-08:00

My mortgage broker forwarded me this. She's a really nice lady and I must be on her contacts list. I definately will see if it works when we deal with coughs this winter. I wanted to blog it because I know many of my devoted fans (ha ha) may also benefit from it.

During a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can 'taste' it. Some of us have used Vicks Vapo rub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I've never heard of this. And don't laugh, it works 100% of the time, although the scientists who discovered it aren't sure why. To stop night time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vapo rub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly. Just happened to tune in A.M. Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good, due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so, I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effecton sick children who then went on to sleep soundly. My wife tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it. If you have grandchildren, pass this on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed at how it works.DON'T SHUN THIS ONE.. TRY IT THE NEXT TIME YOU GET A BAD COLD.

Monday

2008-11-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

The tree guy came today. He did alright. He didn't cut the tree down as far as I'd liked, but I didn't complain to him because I think the tree was a lot huger than he realized and I was nervous enough as it was. But the main bulk of it is gone. My rain gutter has a dent in it, but other than that we seem to have survived. He's coming back tomorrow to do a smaller tree that has branches leaning over the house. Okay, that one I'm nervous about. I will definately be out talking to him about that one. It's not major, major, (Remember that phrase Maggie?) but our satellite dish could possibly get hit and it would cost to have Dish network realign that. I'm not sure it's worth it. I'll have to see what he thinks and I'll probably hang around to assist a little.....More to come.....I'm sure you are waiting on pins and needles....

Laci started preschool. I got a lead from a lady at church and called the teacher last night. She said she had one opening left. Serendipity, right? (Is that the right way to use that word?) I took down the address and we decided to walk there since it sounded close. Turns out its around the corner from our house! You've got to be kidding (I thought to myself)! :) The teacher is AWESOME and she lives in a NICE house a 3-4 minute walk away. Halaleujah. Laci loved it. She made a new friend that she already wants to play with. Her name is Lexi.
Imagine: Laci and Lexi. How funny. So three days a week I am claiming some ALONE time again! I was planning on going to the gym but I'm going to put it off longer. I still cannot get over what a great running neighborhood I live in. I feel like I've rediscovered running. I've never seen such a hilly place. It's awesome. I have to say though....NOT so good for bike riding. Some spots are so steep it would be murder to let your kid ride down them and good luck riding up them. Impossible. However, great for those buns and thighs! yah, buns and thighs. (I've watched too much Sponge Bob)
It's been so mild here during the day. I only turn on the heat through the morning and evening hours. I'm finally enjoying the kind of sun that Kim in Idaho Falls has enjoyed for years because they're facing the right direction. I wore flip flops today and tomorrow it's going to be warmer. Yee haw!
Nephi and I registered our cars today. That was a small fortune. $300 total to register the cars. What a rip off. Why so much? In Idaho that same amount would've registered 5-6 cars. No kidding. I knew I'd moved to the big city when I went to the DMV. It reminded me of the old days of going to the DMV in Vegas. Very big, cold feeling, everything gray, security guards watching you. I'm glad I won't have to go there again for a long time hopefully. They have a renewal drive thru. Isn't that funny. Also, I guess you can just mail it in. I just love the idea of the drive thru though. Kind of like mom going through the flu shot drive thru. Genius.

A little taste of the show last night that I could find on YouTube

2008-11-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

This is an actual clip from last nights show. You can see for yourself that Jon still can't dance. That's alright.

New Kids

2008-11-15T23:30:00.000-08:00

I just got home from the New Kids concert. It's 12:30am. Whoo! It was fun. 3 1/2 hours of music. It started with Lady Gaga, then Natasha Beddingfield (spelled wrong), and then the New Kids. The concert was great. Definately a little cheesy at times, but I loved it because it was classic New Kids. They still dance like they used too. John is still a bad dancer. He was funny to watch. Nowadays he's highschool showchoir talent worthy, but I think he gets grandfathered in since he's a classic. :) I have to say, Donny was pretty hot. But Joey was GREAT. If you didn't look at the monitor and see his aging, you would think he was still a kid. Great showman. The last and only time I ever got to their concert was like 18 years ago (is that possible?) and Joey was sick. So it's the first time I've ever seen him. Holy cow. 18 years. You'd never know it's been that long. Not rusty at all, except Jon, who's always looked rusty.
Someone threw Donny an "I love Mormon Girls" shirt so he put it on. Pretty funny. Anyhow, had a great time. Danced the whole time as did my entire section. Fun fun fun.

tree trimming

2008-11-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

We have a huge, looming tree we need cut down quite a bit in the backyard. I feared it would be very expensive so I worried about when I could get to it. When I was on craigslist I found an ad for tree trimming. I contacted the guy to come for an estimate and he came yesterday. He told me he'd cut the tree for $300. A really good price for major tree work. I was like, "How soon can you come?" So, I think he's coming Monday. After he left I looked over his flyer and thought, "Oh crap. What have I done?" "Does this guy really know what he's doing", as well as had a good nervous laugh over the rest of his skills. I told my neighbor about everything and he said, "Hey, if he gets your tree down for $300...Great!"
Do you suppose he trims trees wearing his Chips Patrol suit? :)
P.s. double click on the flyer to enlarge it.

New phone #

2008-11-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have a phone now! So far so good. My new phone # is: 1-(801)-337-4223.

New Kids On The Block

2008-11-13T11:06:00.001-08:00

So, as I was telling Kim in an e-mail, I was showing Brigham some "slammin" 90's dance moves and it made me nostalgic for the good old days. I remembered that the New Kids were coming to Salt Lake so I went looking for tickets. I ordered one and it just arrived Fed Ex today. I am especially pleased because I only paid a total of $65. (that included overnight shipping), and the face value of the ticket is $90. The show is actually sold out but I bought it from Stub Hub. Somebody probably thought they'd make a killing off these tickets and now they have to take a loss. I didn't know their original worth until I recieved it. I would not have paid $90 to go to the show. Sorry New Kids. You're not worth $90 bucks. But what a deal. It's in the lower bowl close to the stage so the seat should be great. I'm excited. I had decided to not go earlier, but in the end I couldn't resist. And, unlike my trip down to Utah for So You Think You Can Dance by myself, now my trip down to the e-center will be under 45 minutes I think. I'll bet I can still sing along to all of their old stuff. Woohoo! Should be fun!

NO PHONE

2008-11-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

I knew it. I knew this phone thing was going to be a nightmare. Comcast came today and they couldn't install it either. I don't know why this has been so impossible. So, attempt #3: The comcast guy told me to get a vonage account. You buy the device that connects into your DSL and bingo, you supposedly get phone service. I activated the phone service and am paying for the package with unlimited long distance. So, I'll give you my new number when I hear with my own ears that I have a working line. They're overnighting the box. Of course after I ordered it I realized that I could have bought the box locally. Oh well, what's a days difference at this point.

After the yard work

2008-11-11T15:32:00.000-08:00

This is how the property looked when we were done with yard work on Saturday. We cleaned out a lot of overgrowth, tore out some shrubs, pruned shrubs, raked leaves, etc. etc.

Since you've been here mom, I think you'll see the difference. It looks good doesn't it?

Settling in...

2008-11-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

We've really been enjoying getting settled. It has been A LOT of work but it is fun when it feels more and more like our place. Pretty much everything is in. I don't know where everything is but it's all unpacked somewhere! On Saturday we spent almost the ENTIRE day doing yard work in the front of the home. I will try to take a picture tomorrow to show the "after" picture. We cut some stuff down, cleaned things out, etc. The landscape fits the contemporary style of the home now. We've enjoyed meeting our neighbors. Our next door neighbors are so wonderful. They have really made us feel welcome. I met the neighbor two doors down on Saturday and she announced to me on our first meeting that we were going to be workout partners! What?! That was funny. Oh well. I need a workout partner. She introduced Laci to a fluffy little poodle that was actually really friendly and CLEAN. She told Laci she can come over and play ball with it. Then she gave us a tour of her backyard which had a pool with diving board! There was a full on party area with bbq. She doesn't have children at home anymore so we are invited to swim at her home all summer. Man, do I know how to pick a neighborhood or what?
We went to church today. It was fine. It was church. What can I say. The bishop made no announcement for new members to meet in his office after church. That's what our old bishop did every week. So we left as soon as church was over. We didn't care. It was noon and we were hungry! Apparently this is one of those wards where they have to practically make up callings for people. I usually don't love those wards but whatever... maybe I'll get to be hymn book picker upper.
Tomorrow we're having some carpets cleaned, the tile shower steam cleaned. We need to get a checking account, etc. etc. etc.

Note: I have no phone until Nov 13th.

2008-11-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

I have had a headache with my phone here. I had a dial tone yesterday and then not today. I'm fed up with Qwest and I'm swithching my phone to Comcast. It's nice to at least have options. Unfortunately my install isn't scheduled until Nov 13th! that is bad. On the upside, when it is installed, I will have unlimited long distance! That is very good. I hope they don't have trouble getting me hooked up. So, I can chat with people next Thursday afternoon hopefully. My new phone number will be 801-605-8013. We're moved in. We have lots of little things to do but we're living our lives. Brigham started school yesterday and is liking it. When life calms down a little I'll post more including pictures.